Oxygen, Carbon Dioxide, and Nitrogen

Abstract

The oxidation-reduction (redox) potential of a chemical system such as wine is a measure of the tendency of the molecules, or ions, to gain or lose electrons. A compound with a large positive reduction potential (e.g., oxygen) will readily accept electrons producing the reduced form of that compound (e.g., water). Conversely, molecules (ions) with a lower (nega­tive) redox potential (e.g., SO₂ or sulfite ion, SO₃ ⁼) exhibit increasing ten­dencies to lose electrons, hence producing the oxidized form (e.g., sulfate ion, SO₄ ⁼).