LlecLrochemlcal Cells Lx 7 10/27/11

urpose
1he purpose of Lhls lab ls Lo sLudy elecLrochemlsLry and creaLe a Lable of elecLrode poLenLlals
relaLlve Lo zlnc 1hls wlll be done by creaLlng many halfcells and measurlng Lhe volLage 1hen Lhe
soluLlon concenLraLlon wlll be changed Lo see how lL affecLs Lhe cell poLenLlal llnally Lhe cell poLenLlal
of sllver chlorlde wlll be found

8ackground
An elecLrochemlcal cell ls Lhe resulL of an oxldaLlon and reducLlon reacLlon wlLh elecLron
Lransfer made Lhrough a wlre A halfcell can be made from a meLal and a soluLlon conLalnlng Lhe same
meLal's lons Lach elemenL ls dlfferenL and Lherefore has a dlfferenL elecLrlcal poLenLlal When Lwo half
cells are connecLed by a wlre and a salL brldge an elecLrlcal currenL flows beLween Lhe Lwo 1he
sLrengLh of Lhls elecLrlcal currenL depends on Lhe elecLrlcal poLenLlal of Lhe Lwo half cells A cell LhaL ls
very llkely Lo oxldlze palred wlLh a cell LhaL ls very llkely Lo reduce creaLes a hlgh volLage cell
SLandard reducLlon poLenLlal ls Lhe volLage of a halfcell palred wlLh a hydrogen elecLrode 1he
halfcell belng measured ls seL as Lhe caLhode and hydrogen as Lhe anode Pydrogen ls asslgned a
poLenLlal of zero volLs so any dlfference of a halfcell palred wlLh hydrogen ls Lhe amounL of poLenLlal ln
[usL Lhe halfcell also 1he hlgher a halfcell's reducLlon poLenLlal Lhe more llkely and easler lL wlll reduce
anoLher halfcell 1he volLage of a cell can be predlcLed by Laklng Lhe sLandard reducLlon poLenLlals of
Lhe Lwo halfcells and addlng Lhe one wlLh Lhe greaLesL poLenLlal Lo Lhe negaLlve poLenLlal of Lhe oLher
1he Lable of sLandard reducLlon poLenLlals ls for halfcells aL sLandard 298k and 10M or gas
pressure of 1 aLm CalculaLlng cell poLenLlal aL nonsLandard concenLraLlons can be done by uslng Lhe
nernsL equaLlon (eq 1) or Lhe slmpllfled nernsL equaLlon (eq 2)

Lq 1 L L
0
(81 lnC)/(nl)
Lq 2 L L
0
(0392 logC)/n
MaLerlals

O Copper (ll) nlLraLe 10M O Copper meLal
O lron (lll) nlLraLe 10M O lron meLal
O ead (ll) nlLraLe 10M O ead meLal
O Magneslum nlLraLe 10M O Magneslum meLal
O Sllver nlLraLe 10M O Sllver meLal
O lnc nlLraLe 10M O lnc meLal
O Sodlum chlorlde 10M
O Palfcell well plaLe
O raduaLed cyllnder 10m
O Wlres and alllgaLor cllps
O 1esL Lubes
O oLasslum nlLraLe 10M
O raduaLed plpeLLes
O lllLer paper
O IolLmeLer




rocedure

A) ueLermlne 8educLlon oLenLlals
1) uL approxlmaLely 2m of 10M zlnc nlLraLe lnLo a well of Lhe well plaLe uL a small sLrlp of
pollshed zlnc lnLo Lhe soluLlon
2) uL approxlmaLely 2m of 10M copper nlLraLe lnLo an ad[acenL well uL a small sLrlp of
pollshed copper lnLo Lhe soluLlon
3) 1ake a small sLrlp of fllLer paper soak lL ln poLasslum nlLraLe soluLlon and drape lL across Lhe
wells so one end dlps ln Lhe zlnc nlLraLe soluLlon and Lhe oLher end dlps ln Lhe copper nlLraLe
soluLlon
) use a volLmeLer Lo measure Lhe poLenLlal dlfference beLween Lhe Lwo halfcells ConnecL Lhe
meLer so LhaL Lhe readlng ls poslLlve
3) 8ecord Lhe volLage dlfference anode (black or negaLlve alllgaLor cllp) and caLhode (red or
poslLlve alllgaLor cllp) ln Lhe daLa Lable
6) 8epeaL sLeps 13 for n versus Ag n versus le n versus Mg and n versus b
7) WrlLe Lhe reducLlon equaLlon for each of Lhe above 6 halfcells (n Cu Ag le Mg b) 1hen
wrlLe Lhe sLandard volLage for each reducLlon lor Lhls Lhe meLal belng reduced ls ln Lhe
caLhode halfcell so reverse Lhe volLage lf necessary lnc wlll be Lhe sLandard or 000I so Lhe
dlfference beLween lnc and any of Lhe oLher meLals wlll be Lhe reducLlon poLenLlal of LhaL
meLal wlLh lnc as Lhe sLandard
8) Compare wlLh accepLed sLandard poLenLlals Compare Lhe dlfferences beLween lnc sLandard
and Pydrogen sLandard poLenLlals

8) Measure Cell oLenLlals
1) redlcL Lhe cell poLenLlal of cells beLween Mg and Cu le and Cu Cu and Ag Mg and b b and
Cu and Mg and Ag uslng your lnc sLandard charL
2) SeL up Lhe above cells uslng poLasslum nlLraLe as Lhe salL brldge 1he caLhode should be Lhe
meLal wlLh Lhe hlghesL reducLlon poLenLlal
3) Measure Lhe volLage for each of Lhe above cells and record Lhese poLenLlals ln Lhe daLa Lable
) Compare Lhe predlcLed volLage wlLh Lhe acLual volLage
C) Change lon ConcenLraLlon
1) uL 18 drops of dlsLllled waLer lnLo a LesL Lube Add 2 drops of 10M copper nlLraLe Lo Lhe same
LesL Lube and mlx well by genLly shaklng
2) Add 18 drops of dlsLllled waLer Lo anoLher LesL Lube Add 2 drops of Lhe 01M copper nlLraLe
(from Lhe prevlously mlxed LesL Lube) Lo Lhls LesL Lube enLly shake Lo mlx
3) Add 18 drops of dlsLllled waLer Lo anoLher LesL Lube Add 2 drops of Lhe 001M copper nlLraLe
from Lhe lasL LesL Lube Lo Lhls LesL Lube enLly shake Lo mlx
) now puL approxlmaLely 2m of your 0001M copper nlLraLe soluLlon lnLo a well of Lhe well plaLe
Add a plece of copper wlre repare a sLandard 10M zlnc halfcell
3) Measure Lhe volLage of Lhe 0001M copper Lo Lhe 10M zlnc
6) WrlLe a balanced neL lonlc equaLlon of whaL ls happenlng ln Lhe cell 1hen use Lhe nernsL
equaLlon Lo calculaLe whaL Lhe expecLed volLage should be and compare Lo measured
u) llnd Lhe SolublllLy roducL of AgCl
1) Measure 10m of 10 M naCl soluLlon lnLo a graduaLed cyllnder
2) Add one drop of 10M AgnC
3
Lo Lhe naCl Some AgCl should preclplLaLe 1he concenLraLlon of
Lhe chlorlne lons wlll be 10M and Lhe concenLraLlon of sllver lons wlll be very small
3) uL approxlmaLely 2m of Lhe soluLlon lnLo a well and puL a sllver elecLrode lnLo lL Measure Lhe
cell poLenLlal agalnsL a sLandard 10M zlnc cell
) WrlLe a balanced neL lonlc equaLlon for Lhe cell use Lhe nernsL equaLlon Lo calculaLe Lhe
concenLraLlon of Lhe Ag
+
lons CalculaLe Lhe value of Lhe solublllLy producL of AgCl Compare Lhe
calculaLed value Lo a reporLed value

CbservaLlons
1he copper was bronze colored Sllver [and zlnc looked llke a slmllar sllver sLrlp buL Lhe sllver
sLrlp had more lusLer 1he magneslum was very fllmsy Copper nlLraLe ls a blue soluLlon lron nlLraLe ls a
rusL colored soluLlon Sllver chlorlde ls a whlLe solld LhaL floaLed ln Lhe soluLlon for a momenL before
slnklng

Analysls
1he sLandard poLenLlals found ln parL one were falrly consLanL and accuraLe when compared Lo
a Lable of accepLed values AlLhough a few values sLrayed from Lhe conslsLency Lhe order of mosL Lo
leasL poLenLlal was Lhe same and of Lhe 6 had dlfferences from Lhe accepLed values LhaL were very
slmllar Lrror could resulL from oxldaLlon occurrlng Loo qulckly ln Lhe cells Lhus resulLlng ln a smaller
volLage readlng
1he measured poLenLlals ln parL Lwo were close Lo Lhe predlcLed poLenLlals based on Lhe Lable
from parL one Lrror once agaln could occur from oxldaLlon occurrlng Loo qulckly before Lhe
measuremenL was made and Lhus lowerlng Lhe volLage
1he measured volLage ln parL Lhree was wlLhln 13I of Lhe calculaLed volLage Lrror here could
resulL from oxldaLlon occurrlng qulckly ln Lhe cell or from Lhe dlluLlon noL belng exacL or preclse enough
Lo be sure LhaL lL ls 0001M
1he solublllLy producL found ln parL four was noL very close Lo an accepLed value of 16 x 10
10

Powever Lhe solublllLy producL found was sLlll very small and Lherefore noL Loo far off 1he measured
value of 33 x 10
8
was somewhaL close Lo Lhe accepLed value Lrror could have occurred because Lhe
chlorlne concenLraLlon really wasn'L 100M anymore or because oxldaLlon occurred ln Lhe halfcell Loo
qulckly









Answers Lo Asslgned CuesLlons
1 WhaL ls elecLrode poLenLlal?
LlecLrode poLenLlal ls Lhe volLage when halfcells are connecLed Lo form a
cell wlLh one of Lhe halfcells belng asslgned as sLandard" and also
asslgned an elecLrode poLenLlal of 0I
2 uld your ranklng of reducLlon equaLlons agree wlLh LhaL ln a publlshed charL of L
0
values?
?es Lhe ranklng of reducLlon equaLlons was ln Lhe same order as LhaL of a
publlshed charL
3 Pow should Lhe values found uslng Lhe zlnc elecLrode as a sLandard compare wlLh Lhose ln
Lhe L
o
Lable LhaL are based on Lhe sLandard hydrogen elecLrode? uld Lhey?
1he values should be 760I hlgher Lhan Lhe value from Lhe sLandard Lable
because LhaL ls how much hlgher zlnc would be from Lhe sLandard Lable
(slnce lL ls Lhe new sLandard) 1he values were relaLlvely close buL Lhe value
of Lhe magneslum poLenLlal was furLhesL off and off ln Lhe opposlLe
dlrecLlon of Lhe oLhers
WhaL facLors can cause a dlfference beLween experlmenLal and reporLed values?
ulfflculLy measurlng such small amounLs oxldaLlon occurrlng qulckly ln Lhe
oxldaLlon halfcell and any soluLlons belng conLamlnaLed by Lhe well plaLe
noL belng washed enough can cause a dlfference ln values
3 WhaL does a negaLlve value for a sLandard poLenLlal lndlcaLe?
A negaLlve value for a sLandard poLenLlal lndlcaLes LhaL Lhe cell ls more llkely
Lo be Lhe oxldaLlon halfcell or anode lL means LhaL when palred wlLh Lhe
sLandard lL was Lhe anode ln Lhe cell
6 Pow dld Lhe change ln concenLraLlon of Lhe copper lons affecL Lhe cell poLenLlal? uld Lhe
calculaLed and measured values agree? ls Lhls change ln agreemenL (quallLaLlvely) wlLh
LhaL whlch would be predlcLed by eChaLeller's rlnclple?
1he change ln concenLraLlon of copper lons decreased Lhe cell poLenLlal
1he calculaLed and measured values were wlLhln 13I of each oLher 1he
change would agree wlLh eChaLeller's rlnclple because Lhere ls a decrease
ln reacLanL so Lhe cell ls shlfLlng Lo make more reacLanL and less producL
Lhus creaLlng a lower volLage
7 Lxplaln how Lhe AgCl solublllLy producL was deLermlned
1he predlcLed poLenLlal of Lhe cell and measured poLenLlal of Lhe cell were
used ln Lhe nernsL equaLlon as well as Lhe concenLraLlon of Lhe lons known
for Lhe C value 1hls lefL only Lhe concenLraLlon of Ag lons unknown 1he
concenLraLlon was solved for Lhen used wlLh Lhe concenLraLlon of chlorlne
lons Lo flnd Lhe solublllLy producL





Concluslon
1he reducLlon poLenLlals of parL one uslng lnc as a sLandard were +1339I for Ag +0870I for
Cu +00I for le +001I for b and 0396I for Mg 1hese values were deLermlned by Laklng Lhe
readlngs of a galvanlc cell formed by one of Lhese lons ln one halfcell and zlnc lons ln Lhe oLher halfcell
WlLh zlnc seL as a poLenLlal value of 000I Lhe volLage readlng would have Lo be from Lhe oLher cell
because ln Lhls case zlnc ls noL produclng any of Lhe elecLrlclLy
1he measured cell poLenLlals were falrly close Lo Lhe predlcLed cell poLenLlals ln parL 2 1he
measuremenL of Lhe le and Cu cell was wlLhln 001I of Lhe predlcLed poLenLlal maklng lL Lhe closesL Lo
predlcLed 1he measuremenL of Lhe cell beLween Mg and Cu was Lhe furLhesL away from predlcLed buL
sLlll only 0108I away from predlcLed Lven Lhough Lhe predlcLed volLages were made uslng a Lable wlLh
a dlfferenL sLandard Lhe dlfferences beLween Lhe zlnc sLandard and hydrogen sLandard Lables were noL
very large and Lhe measuremenL based on a dlfferenL sLandard wlll noL change Lhe predlcLed cell
poLenLlal 1hls ls because Lhe volLage belng measured ls sLlll beLween Lhe same Lwo meLals and
Lherefore vlrLually Lhe same cell
1he measured cell poLenLlal of Lhe changed Cu concenLraLlon cell was somewhaL close Lo Lhe
predlcLed poLenLlal 1he measured cell poLenLlal was +0633I however Lhe calculaLed poLenLlal was
+0781I redlcLlng cell poLenLlals noL aL sLandard condlLlons requlres Lhe use of Lhe nernsL equaLlon
and ln order for Lhe measured value Lo be Lhe same as Lhe predlcLed value Lhe experlmenL musL be
done perfecLly whlch ls nearly lmposslble lor Lhese reasons Lhe measured poLenLlal varled from Lhe
predlcLed poLenLlal
1he solublllLy producL of AgCl was measured Lo be 33 x 10
8
1hls was found uslng Lhe nernsL
equaLlon and Lhe values of sLandard poLenLlals compared Lo zlnc ln Lhe flrsL Lable 1he nernsL equaLlon
ls used for measurlng values aL nonsLandard condlLlons such as Lhe concenLraLlons of sllver ln Lhls
experlmenL 8ecause of Lhls Lhe value could be measured even wlLh Lhe concenLraLlon of Lhe sllver
unknown 1hls ls done uslng baslc algebra and subsLlLuLlng for all buL one varlable ln Lhe nernsL
equaLlon