When iron reacts with moist air to form rust an ionic compound results because?

Rust and Ionic Formations

The iron oxide rust is formed from iron reacting with moist oxygen. This example is of an ionic chemical, defined as an arrangement of negatively and positively charged electrons that is held together with electrostatic forces. (Lide. 2020). The electrostatic forces that result in the formation of ions are responsible for holding the compounds together. Ions can be formed by atoms losing or gaining electrons. Oxidation is the process that forms rust. The oxygen in the air reacts with iron to create the oxide. While the electrons of the iron atom become part the oxygen molecule and the iron is left with an additional positive charge, the iron ion remains unchanged. Also, the oxygen retains a negative electron to form an ionic link between the two. The ionic bond holds the atoms together, giving rust its reddish brown color (Dahlquist 2021). The process accelerates when iron and water are exposed to moisture. The rate of iron oxidation is increased when water molecules react with the iron. This causes the rapid formation of iron oxide (or rust) which is a chemically stable, non-toxic compound. Although rust is not toxic and is chemically stable, it’s also highly reactive.