reducing agent

American  

noun

Chemistry.

1. a substance that causes another substance to undergo reduction and that is oxidized in the process.

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reducing agent British  

noun

1. chem a substance that reduces another substance in a chemical reaction, being itself oxidized in the process Compare oxidizing agent

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Etymology

Origin of reducing agent

First recorded in 1795–1805

Example Sentences

Using green hydrogen as a reducing agent avoids these greenhouse gas emissions.

From Science Daily • Feb. 5, 2024

But the milling did prompt the aluminium to act as a reducing agent, as he expected.

From Scientific American • Mar. 30, 2023

"What we do is basically swapping carbon for electricity as a reducing agent," explained Adam Rauwerdink, the company's senior vice president of business development.

From Salon • May 17, 2022

Depending on its concentration, the temperature, and the strength of the reducing agent, sulfuric acid oxidizes many compounds and, in the process, undergoes reduction to SO2, S, H2S, or S2−.

From Textbooks • Feb. 14, 2019

To develop the image the exposed plate is immersed in a solution of some reducing agent called the developer.

From An Elementary Study of Chemistry by McPherson, William