A
superoxide, also known by the obsolete name
hyperoxide, is a compound that contains the superoxide
anion with the chemical formula . The systematic name of the anion is dioxide(1-). Superoxide anion is particularly important as the product of the one-electron
reduction of
dioxygen O
2, which occurs widely in nature. Whereas molecular oxygen (dioxygen) is a
diradical containing two
unpaired electrons, the addition of a second electron fills one of its two
degenerate molecular orbitals, leaving a charged ionic species with single unpaired electron and a net negative charge of -1. Both dioxygen and superoxide
ion are
free radicals that exhibit
paramagnetism.