Top topic this week
Questions asked by users might not always be phrased in the clearest way.
In a Latimer diagram for sulfur in a basic solution, the species SO3^2- is unstable with respect to disproportionation. This is because the potential for the reduction of SO3^2- to S2O3^2- is more positive than the potential for its oxidation to SO4^2-. This means that SO3^2- can be both oxidized and reduced under the same conditions, leading to disproportionation where it reacts with itself to form both a higher and a lower oxidation state.