Chapter 9, Problem 24PS

When potassium and oxygen react, one of the products obtained is potassium superoxide, KO₂. The anion in this compound is the superoxide ion. O₂^–. Write the electron configuration for this ion in molecular orbital terms, and then compare it with the electron configuration of the O₂ molecule with respect to the following criteria:

1. (a) magnetic character
2. (b) net number of σ and π bonds
3. (c) bond order
4. (d) oxygen–oxygen bond length

A closed-circuit breathing apparatus that generates its own oxygen. One source of oxygen is potassium superoxide (KO₂). Both carbon dioxide and moisture exhaled by the wearer into the breathing tube react with the KO₂ to generate oxygen.