What role did oxygen play in Antoine Lavoisier’s theory of combustion?

Antoine Lavoisier’s theory of combustion fundamentally replaced the earlier phlogiston theory, which incorrectly posited that a substance called phlogiston was released during burning.12

In Lavoisier’s view, combustion is an oxidation process where a substance chemically combines with oxygen rather than releasing a "fiery substance". Through precise experiments tracking weight changes, Lavoisier demonstrated that when materials like metals or nonmetals burn or undergo calcination, they absorb oxygen from the air, which accounts for their increase in weight.34

Lavoisier identified oxygen as the active entity in these reactions and coined the term, which means "acid producer," as he believed it was a necessary component in the formation of acids. By establishing that oxygen is consumed during combustion, respiration, and calcination, Lavoisier provided an experimentally grounded framework that successfully accounted for both the qualitative and quantitative changes observed in these chemical processes.342