Role of Oxidising Agents in Chemical Reactions

Oxidising agents play a crucial role in chemical reactions by driving the process of oxidation. They accept electrons from other substances, which leads to the oxidation of those substances. For example, in the NCERT syllabus, the reaction between potassium permanganate (KMnO₄) and ferrous sulphate (FeSO₄) is a good example. Here, KMnO₄ acts as the oxidising agent as it gets reduced by gaining electrons, while FeSO₄ is oxidised as it loses electrons.