Suggestion of a Viewpoint Change for the Classification Criteria of Redox Reactions

The four representative models that define oxidation–reduction reactions are often used differently in different situations or contexts in chemistry textbooks. Although integrated models have been suggested to overcome the confusion caused by this, they have not been successful. We therefore aim to interpret the causes for difficulties in the attempted integration of the various epistemological perspectives. The four key models, namely, the oxygen, hydrogen, electron, and oxidation state (or number) models, focus on the movement of matter. We, however, suggest the use of the Goodstein method, where the relative changes in the electronegativity orders in redox reactions should be employed rather than the properties of the reactants or products themselves. This requires a change of viewpoint from matter to process. We also suggest that the confusion of classifying redox reactions may occur from the viewpoint of matter. Therefore, new interpretations of redox reactions based on the relationship between reactants and products are suggested, considering the process viewpoint as a valuable criterion. While many researchers have tried to solve this problem by suggesting new models to classify redox reactions, we instead suggest a novel interpretation of the various redox models.