The answer to Oxidation of alcohols
I am confused about oxidation in organic chemistry. Why exactly are oxidation reactions one in which a oxygen is inserted into a bond, hydrogen is removed from a bond, and a more electronegative atom is inserted in the bond, replacing a carbon or a hydrogen. But why exactly does oxidation occur in this fashion?
Also, I don't understand the reasoning behind the determination of oxidation states of carbon. The instructor told us that carbon must be done for the reactive carbon center. Hydrogen is always +1 because it is less electronegative than carbon. Oxygen is -1 for each bond to carbon. But why?
How does this tie into Jones oxidations?