How is oxygen gas produced by heating potassium chlorate?

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combustion — chemical reaction Log burning in a fire. Burning wood is an example of a chemical reaction in which wood in the presence of heat and oxygen is transformed into carbon dioxide, water vapor, and ash.

Oxygen gas is produced from potassium chlorate ( $K C l O_{3}$ ) through a decomposition reaction, a process in which a chemical species breaks down into simpler parts.

When heated, potassium chlorate decomposes to form potassium chloride ( $K C l$ ) and oxygen gas ( $O_{2}$ ). The chemical equation for this reaction is:

$2 K C l O_{3} (s) \to 2 K C l (s) + 3 O_{2} (g)$

In laboratory settings, this reaction is frequently catalyzed by transition metal oxides, most commonly manganese dioxide ( $M n O_{2}$ ). The use of a catalyst is significant because it lowers the temperature required to evolve oxygen from 400 °C to approximately 250 °C.1