Editing Oxide (section)

==Stoichiometry==
Oxides are extraordinarily diverse in terms of [[stoichiometries]] (the measurable relationship between reactants and chemical equations of an equation or reaction) and in terms of the structures of each stoichiometry. Most elements form oxides of more than one stoichiometry. A well known example is [[carbon monoxide]] and [[carbon dioxide]].<ref name=Greenwood>Greenwood, N. N.; & Earnshaw, A. (1997). Chemistry of the Elements (2nd Edn.), Oxford:Butterworth-Heinemann. {{ISBN|0-7506-3365-4}}.</ref> This applies to ''binary'' oxides, that is, compounds containing only oxide and another element.  Far more common than binary oxides are oxides of more complex stoichiometries.  Such complexity can arise by the introduction of other cations (a positively charged ion, i.e. one that would be attracted to the cathode in electrolysis) or other anions (a negatively charged ion). [[Iron silicate]], Fe<sub>2</sub>SiO<sub>4</sub>, the mineral [[fayalite]], is one of many examples of a ternary oxide. For many metal oxides, the possibilities of polymorphism and nonstoichiometry exist as well.<ref>{{cite book|title=Transition Metal Oxides|author=C. N. R. Rao, B. Raveau| publisher=VCH|location=New York|year=1995|isbn=1-56081-647-3}}</ref>  The commercially important dioxides of titanium exists in three distinct structures, for example.  Many metal oxides exist in various nonstoichiometric states.  Many molecular oxides exist with diverse ligands as well.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1021/cr020376q|title=Organometallic Oxides of Main Group and Transition Elements Downsizing Inorganic Solids to Small Molecular Fragments|first1=Herbert W. |last1=Roesky|first2=Ionel |last2=Haiduc|first3=Narayan S. |last3=Hosmane
|journal=Chem. Rev.|year=2003|volume=103|issue=7 |pages=2579–2596|pmid=12848580 }}</ref>

For simplicity sake, most of this article focuses on binary oxides.