oxidation number

     

The oxiation number of a central atom in a coordination compound is the charge that it would have if all the ligands were removed along with the electron pairs that were shared with the central atom. It is used in the nomenclature of inorganic compounds. It is represented by a Roman numeral; the plus sign is omitted for positive oxidation numbers. The oxidation number is placed either as a right superscript to the element symbol, e.g. FeIII, or in parentheses after the name of the element, e.g. iron(III): in the latter case, there is no space between the element name and the oxidation number.

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