Experiment 4
Electrochemical Cells
INTRODUCTION:
Electrochemical cell is a properly connected combination of two half cells. There are two kinds
of electrochemical cells:
(a.) Voltaic cell or Galvanic cell – an electrochemical cell that produce electricity as a
result of spontaneous chemical reactions.
(b.) Electrolytic cell – an electrochemical cell in which electricity is used to accomplish a
nonspontaneous chemical change – that is the reverse of a spontaneous reaction.
The Galvanic Cell
In principle, any spontaneous redox reactions can be used to produce electrical energy.
This task can be accomplished by means of a voltaic cell, a device in which electron transfer place
through an external circuit or pathway rather than directly between reactants.
Two solid metal strips connected by the external circuit are called electrodes. The
electrodes at which oxidation occurs is called the anode, and the electrode at which reduction
occurs is called the cathode. The voltaic cell may be regarded as two “half-cell”, one
corresponding to the oxidation half-reaction and the other to the reduction half-reaction. Recall
that a substance that loses electrons is said to be oxidized, whereas a substance that gains
electrons is said to be reduced.
The cell voltage or electromotive force (emf), is indicated on the voltmeter in units of
volts. The cell emf is also called the cell potential. The magnitude of the emf is a quantitative
measure of the driving force or thermodynamic tendency for the reaction to occur.
In general, the emf of a voltaic cell depends on the substances that make up the cell as
well as the concentration and temperature. Hence, it is a common practice to compare standard
cell potentials, symbolized by E°cell. These potentials correspond to cell voltages under standard
conditions: gases at 1 atmosphere, solutions at 1 M concentration and at 25 °C.
A salt bridge is a device used to connect the oxidation and reduction half-cells of a
galvanic cell. Salt bridges usually come in two types: glass tube and filter paper.
A glass tube salt bridge is a U-shaped glass tube filled with a relatively inert electrolyte;
usually potassium iodide KI, potassium nitrate, KNO 3 or sodium sulfate, Na2SO4 is used. The
electrolyte is often jellified with agar to help prevent the intermixing of fluids which might
otherwise occur.
The salt bridge prevents the mixing of electrolyte solutions and therefore allows
potential differences to occur. It also replenishes the cations and anions to the solution to keep
the electrolyte balance.
Virtual Lab Activity – Part 1. Voltaic Cell
Go to http://introchem.chem.okstate.edu/DCICLA/voltaicCell20.html and open the
Voltaic Cells simulation. You need an Adobe Flash Player to be able to run this
simulation. If you can still open the site using Adobe Flash Player, then you can try to do
the virtual lab on your own. If you can no longer open it, then you can watch the
recording of the lab activity on our shared google drive.
Your screen should look like this in the figure below:
This simulation contains an apparatus for measuring the voltage generated by chemical
reactions. This apparatus is called a voltaic cell. Pop out menus will allow you to select
metals (electrodes) and ionic solutions to be placed into two beakers that are connected
by a salt bridge. You can then connect the metals to a voltmeter to measure the cell
voltage (E°).
Procedure:
PART 1. Voltaic Cell
1. Click on the left pop-out tab for metals and select silver.
2. Click on the left pop-out tab for solutions and select AgNO3 (aq).
3. Use the right tabs and select Cu and Cu(NO3)2 (aq).
4. Click on the power switch of the voltage meter. Observe the action of the simulation.
5. Use the figure below to sketch and label what is happening and to answer the following
questions.
6. Determine what happens if you reverse the cell by placing the Ag| AgNO3 system in the
right beaker and the Cu|Cu(NO3)2 in the left beaker. Explain what you observe.
7. Record your observations and repeat the process using another set of metal electrodes
as per this table.
Voltaic Anode Cathode Direction of e- flow E°cell (Volts) Shorthand Cell
Cell Designation
Left: Ag
Right: Cu
Left: Ag
Right: Zn
Left: Cu
Right: Zn
8. Complete the table above and answer the questions in the Lab Report.
9. Repeat the procedure by pairing Ag, Cu and Zn electrode with H2 electrode.
Virtual Lab Activity – Part 2. Electrolytic Cell
Go to pages.uoregon.edu/tgreenbo/electrolysis10.html and open the Electrolytic Cells
simulation. You need an Adobe Flash Player to be able to run this simulation. Your
screen should look like this.
Procedure:
1. Construct a copper electroplating cell by placing the copper electrode in the red
wire (left side) and the iron electrode in the black wire (right side) and dipping
the whole set-up in Copper Nitrate solution.
2. Retain the mass of both Cu and Fe metal electrode at 10.00 g. Record the initial
masses in the lab report.
3. Run the Electrolysis simulation at a current of 2.00 amperes at 2.00 V for 5.00
minutes. Click the power on button to start running the simulation.
4. Once the simulation is done, record the final masses of the copper and iron
electrode. Record the mass of Cu deposited in the Fe electrode by subtracting the
final mass of Fe with that of the initial mass.
5. Click New trial and repeat procedures 1-4 and run the simulation with the ff. set-
up:
a. Set 2: Current of 2.00 A, Voltage 2.00V and Time 15.00 mins
b. Set 3: Current of 4.00 A, Voltage 2.00V and Time 5.00 mins
c. Set 4 Current of 2.00 A, Voltage 1.00V and Time 5.00 mins
6. Record your observations and answer the questions in the Lab Report:
PART III.
Hydrogen Fuel Cell
Watch this video for the demonstration of how a hydrogen fuel cell work.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zgx-PlDEKA
Answer the ff. Refer to the Table 19.1 of the lecture material for the value of the E°cell
Hydrogen Fuel Cell Anode: ____ Cathode: ____
gas at anode: _______ gas at cathode: _______
Half-reaction
E°cell = E°cell =
Over-all reaction:
E cell =
Shorthand cell designation
Name : ________________________________________ Subject _____________________
Course & Section: ____________________________________ Date : _____________________
Laboratory Report for Activity 4
Electrochemical Cells
Objectives of the Activity:
1.
2.
3.
Data and Results
Part I. Voltaic Cell
Voltaic Cell Anode Cathode Direction of e- flow E°cell (Volts) Shorthand Cell
Designation
Left: Ag
Right: Cu
Left: Ag
Right: Zn
Left: Cu
Right: Zn
Questions:
1. What happened when you tried to reverse the cell by placing the Ag
electrode in the right beaker and the Cu electrode in the left beaker.
(reverse of the Voltaic Cell #1). Explain what you observe.
2. How can you determine which one is the anode electrode and which one
is the cathode electrode?
3. What happens to the anode electrode? (Describe whether it dissolved into
ions or gained mass by metal accumulation).
4. What happens to the cathode electrode? (Describe whether it dissolved
into ions or gained mass by metal accumulation).
5. For each of the three combinations in the above table, write a balanced
half-cell reaction (net ionic equation). Label each cell as “Oxidation
reaction” and “reduction reaction”. Then write the over-all balanced
redox reaction.
6. Assume that the H2|HCl half reaction is assigned a voltage of 0.0 V,
compute for the E°red of the ff. half cell reactions:
Ag+ + 1e- Ag(s)
Cu2+ + 2e- Cu(s)
Zn2+ + 2e- Zn(s)
Part II. Electrolytic Cell
Electroplating Initial Mass of Final Mass of Cu Mass of Cu
Set Cu and Fe in and Fe in grams deposited on Fe
grams in grams
Set 1:
Current: 2.00 A
Voltage: 2.00 V
Time: 5.00 mins
Set 2:
Current: 2.00 A
Voltage: 2.00 V
Time: 15.00 mins
Set 3:
Current: 4.00 A
Voltage: 2.00 V
Time: 5.00 mins
Set 4:
Current: 2.00 A
Voltage: 1.00 V
Time: 5.00 mins
Questions:
1. Is electroplating a spontaneous reaction or does it require energy?
Explain your answer.
2. What attracts the Cu onto the Fe electrode?
3. State the direction of electron flow through the circuit.
4. Calculate the mass of Cu deposited in the Fe electrode for the four
electroplating set by taking into consideration the moles of electrons
involved in the transfer (Remember 1mole electron = 9.648 x 10 4
Coulomb and the molar mass of Cu is 63.546g/mol). Show your
calculations.
5. What is the effect of voltage in the electroplating process?
Part III. Hydrogen Fuel Cell (Proton Exchange Membrane)
Watch this video for the demonstration of how a hydrogen fuel cell work.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zgx-PlDEKA
Answer the ff. Refer to the Table 19.1 of the lecture material for the value of the E°cell
Hydrogen Fuel Cell Anode: Cathode:
gas at anode: gas at cathode:
Half-reaction
E°cell = E°cell =
Over-all reaction:
E cell =
Conclusion: (maximum of 5 sentences only)
(Note: Simplify your conclusion statements to five sentences only. In writing your
conclusions, make sure to briefly provide answers to the objectives of the activity).
