page_title: Iron(II)
section_title: Iron(II) and life
hierarchical_section_title: Iron(II) / Iron(II) and life
context_page_description: In chemistry, iron(II) refers to the element iron in its +2 oxidation state. In ionic compounds, such an atom may occur as a separate cation denoted by Fe²⁺.
  The adjective ferrous or the prefix ferro- is often used to specify such compounds — as in "ferrous chloride" for iron(II) chloride, FeCl
  2. The adjective "ferric" is used instead for iron(III) salts, containing the cation or Fe³⁺. The word ferrous is derived from the Latin word ferrum for iron.
  Iron(II) atoms may also occur as coordination complexes, such as the polymer iron(II) oxalate dihydrate, [Fe
  2]n or [Fe²⁺][C
  2O2−
  4][H
  2O]
  2n; and organometallic compounds, such as the neutral molecule ferrocene, Fe
  2 or [Fe²⁺][C
  5H−
  5]
  2.
  Iron is almost always encountered in the oxidation states 0, +2, or +3. Solid iron(II) salts are relatively stable in air, but in the presence of air and water they tend to oxidize to iron(III) salts that include hydroxide or oxide anions.
context_section_description: All known forms of life require iron. Many proteins in living beings contain bound iron ions; those are an important subclass of the metalloproteins. Examples include hemoglobin, ferredoxin, and the cytochromes.
  These proteins perform their vital functions thanks to the relatively easy switching of the iron atom between the +2 and +3 states.  Hemoglobin for example, carries oxygen in the blood by binding one molecule O
  2 to the iron atom, forming oxyhemoglobin.  In the process, the iron(II) core of hemoglobin loses an electron to become iron(III), while the oxygen molecule is turned into the superoxide anion O−
  2.
  Insufficient iron in the human diet causes anemia.  Animals and humans can obtain the necessary iron from foods that contain it in assimilable form, such as meat. Other organisms must obtain their iron from the environment.  However, iron tends to form highly insoluble iron(III) oxides/hydroxides in aerobic (oxygenated) environment, especially in calcareous soils. Plants (except grasses) solve that problem by encouraging the growth around their roots of certain bacteria that reduce iron(III) to soluble iron(II). (Bacteria and grasses instead secrete compounds called siderophores that form soluble complexes with iron(III).)
  For the same reason, iron is very scarce in seawater, and is often the limiting factor to the growth of the microscopic plants (phytoplankton) that are the basis of the marine food web.  This fact was dramatically demonstrated by an experiment where a large area of the ocean surface was sprayed with soluble iron(II) salts, specifically iron(II) sulfate. After several days, the phytoplankton within the treated area bloomed to such an extent that the effect was visible from outer space. This fertilizing process has been proposed as a means to mitigate the carbon dioxide content of the atmosphere.
caption: Pourbaix diagram of aqueous iron