Dihydrogen

Hydrogen and its Reactions

Hydrogen can exist as a hydride in ionic salts.

The most abundant form of hydrogen is protium, which consists of a single proton and electron.

Dihydrogen ( ) has the ability to reduce some metal ions in aqueous solutions and oxides of metals that are less active than iron into the corresponding metals. This reduction process can be shown as:

This reaction shows how dihydrogen reduces palladium ions ( ) into solid palladium metal ( ), with the formation of hydrogen ions ( ) in the process.

Another example of reduction is when dihydrogen reacts with metal oxides:

In this reaction, dihydrogen reduces the metal oxide ( ) to produce the metal ( ) and water ( ).