Question

The most commonly used reducing agent is

• A. $AlCl_3$
• B. $PbCl_2$
• C. $SnCl_4$
• D. $SnCl_2$

Answer 1

Answer: (D)

$SnCl_2$

Answer 2

A reducing agent is the compound that loses electrons and gets oxidized in achemical reaction.

$Sn$ belongs to the Group 14 of the periodic table and is most stable in +4 oxidation state. The $+4$ oxidation state of $Sn$ is more stable than $+2$ oxidation state. Therefore, $Sn ^{2+}$ can be easily oxidised to $Sn ^{4+}$ and hence $SnCl _{2}$ acts as good reducing agent. The chemical reaction for this is as follows:

$SnCl _{2}+2 Cl \longrightarrow SnCl _{4}+2 e ^{-}$