Question
Arrange the following:
NaH, MgH2 and H2O in order of increasing reducing property.
Solution
Reducing property. The order of increasing reducing character is:
H2O < MgH2 < NaH
Reason: NaH being an ionic hydride, therefore it is a powerful reducing agent. On the other hand, both MgH2 and H2O are covalent hydrides, but the bond dissociation energy of H2O is more than that of MgH2. Hence the reducing character increases in the order:
H2O < MgH2 < NaH
