which of the following can oxidise fluoride ions?

Options

A. `O_(3)`
B. `Cl_(2)`
C. `Br_(2)`
D. No chemical substance

Answer

To determine which of the given substances can oxidize fluoride ions, we can follow these steps:

### Step 1: Understand the concept of oxidation and reduction
- Oxidation is the loss of electrons, while reduction is the gain of electrons. In this context, we are looking for a substance that can accept electrons from fluoride ions (F⁻), which means the substance must be a strong oxidizing agent.

### Step 2: Refer to the electrochemical series
- The electrochemical series ranks elements based on their standard reduction potentials. The higher the reduction potential, the stronger the oxidizing agent. Fluorine (F₂) is at the top of this series, with a standard reduction potential of +2.87 V, indicating it has a very high tendency to gain electrons and thus oxidize other substances.

### Step 3: Analyze the given options
- The options provided are O₃ (ozone), Cl₂ (chlorine), Br₂ (bromine), and "no chemical substance." We need to determine if any of these can oxidize fluoride ions.

### Step 4: Compare the standard reduction potentials
- Ozone (O₃) has a lower reduction potential than fluorine, meaning it cannot oxidize fluoride ions.
- Chlorine (Cl₂) has a reduction potential of +1.36 V, which is also lower than that of fluorine, so it cannot oxidize fluoride ions.
- Bromine (Br₂) has an even lower reduction potential of +1.07 V, making it unable to oxidize fluoride ions as well.

### Step 5: Conclusion
- Since all the given substances (O₃, Cl₂, Br₂) have lower reduction potentials than fluorine, none of them can oxidize fluoride ions. Therefore, the correct answer is that there is "no chemical substance" that can oxidize fluoride ions.

### Final Answer
- The answer is: **No chemical substance** (Option 4).

---