CHM171L Physical Chemistry 2 Laboratory

4th Quarter SY 2014-2015

ELECTROCHEMISTRY: DETERMINATION OF THE FARADAY CONSTANT

Arcega, Rachelle Ann1; Banta, Mary Claire L.2; Bongo, Sayre J.3; Balintag, Elaine4; Cabais, Anjelica Jean P.5

School of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry, Mapúa Institute of Technology, Manila 1002, Philippines
Date Performed: May 08, 2015/ Date Submitted: May 15, 2015
Submitted to: Engr. Ariziel Ruth Marquez

ABSTRACT

An electrochemical cell is an experimental apparatus used either to generate electrical energy through the use of spontaneous
redox reactions or is one that uses electrical energy to drive non-spontaneous reactions. It is composed of an anode at which
oxidation occurs and a cathode at which reduction occurs. In this experiment however, only the second type, called an
electrolytic cell, was used in order to achieve the objectives of the experiment. The objectives of the experiment were 1) to
determine the effect of current on electrolytic reactions at a given time, 2) to determine, experimentally, Faraday’s constant,
and 3) to familiarize the students with the electrolytic analyzer. Based on the results obtained, it was concluded that current
affected electrolytic reactions in a proportional and direct manner. Moreover, the Faraday constant was experimentally
determined with the use of the electrolytic analyzer equipment though the calculated value had approximately 4% error. Lastly,
we were able to familiarize ourselves with the main equipment in use which was the electrolytic analyzer, its parts, and how
to operate it.

Keywords: electrochemical cell, redox reactions, electrolytic cell, Faraday constant, electrolytic analyzer, current

INTRODUCTION

A copper sulfate solution is composed of a cation (Cu2+)
and an anion (SO42-). Once CuSO4 is dissolved in
water, it separates into its corresponding ions since it is
an electrolyte (a substance whose atoms are closely
bonded together but whose molecules split up into
positive and negative ions once in solution).
neutral state. This process is also known as electrolysis.
After the separation process takes place, there will be
deposits of neutrally charged copper atoms on the
cathode together with the SO4 reacting with the copper
anode and resulting into CuSO4 and will separate into
Cu2+ and SO42- dissolved in water.

With the electrolytic analyzer (which is actually an During the whole electrolysis process, copper is
electrochemical cell), two platinum electrodes are used. deposited on cathode and same amount of copper is
These are immersed into the solution and a current is removed from the anode. Basically, the principle of
made to flow through them. This causes the cation electrolysis states that the cations in the cathode
(Cu2+ in this case) to be attracted towards the cathode receive electrons from negative cathode while anions
(the electrode connected to the negative terminal of the provide these electrons to the cathode. Figure 1 on the
source). The cation will now receive electrons from the next page shows this basic principle of electrolysis.
electrode and its atoms will eventually become neutrally
charged. On the other hand, the anion will be attracted
towards the anode (the electrode connected to the
positive terminal of the source). From there, the anions,
SO42-, will give up two of their electrons and become
SO4 radical. It will then attack the copper anode and will
yield copper sulfate. This is because of the fact that it is
impossible for the SO4 radical to exist in the electrical

Experiment 01│ Group No. 1│ Date: May 8, 2015 1 of 3

 CHM171L Physical Chemistry 2 Laboratory
4th Quarter SY 2014-2015
Figure 1. Constant flow of electrons is supplied throughout
the system. Reduction takes place in the cathode while
oxidation takes place in the anode
The net effect of electrolysis is a transfer of electrons
from one species to another resulting in a change of the
oxidation number of an element (Atkins, 2010).
Oxidation occurs when the atom or molecule loses its
electrons at the anode while reduction occurs when the
atom or molecule gains electrons at the cathode. A
continuous flow of electrons or electric current
throughout the external circuit is essential for constant
electrolysis.
Throughout the process undergone by the
electrochemical cell, electrical energy is converted into
chemical energy. In chemistry and physics, Faraday’s
constant (F) is used in order to calculate for this
conversion. This constant is the charge, which is
measured in Coulombs, supplied by one mole of
electrons.
F = eNA (Eqn. 1)
The equation above describes the relationship between
the charge and the quantity of matter liberated in an
electrolytic reaction where e is the magnitude of the
charge of an electron (1.602x10-19 C) and NA is
Avogadro’s number (6.022x1023 mol-1). Due to this
equation, the recently accepted value for F is
96485.3399 C/mol. According to Faraday’s laws, the
mass of the substance produced or consumed is
proportional to the quantity of charge that has passed
through the circuit. Also, the number of faradays that
must pass through a circuit when one mole of a
substance is produced or consumed is a whole number.
Experiment 01│ Group No. 1│ Date: May 8, 2015
The experiment’s objectives are the following: (1) to
determine the effect of current on electrolytic reactions
at a given time, (2) to determine the Faraday’s constant,
and (3) to be familiarized with the electrolytic analyzer
equipment.
METHODOLOGY
In this experiment, the different equipment and glass
wares used were the electrolytic analyzer, a stopwatch,
one 500-mL beaker, and two 250-mL beakers. There
was only one reagent used, the CuSO4 solution.
The procedure was as follows. The two clean working
electrodes were first weighed. The copper sulfate
solutions were poured into the two smaller beakers. The
electrodes, stirring rod, and copper sulfate solutions
were then positioned into their proper places as per the
design of the electrolytic analyzer equipment. It was
then turned on to provide the electric energy that would
drive the reaction. This was timed for up to 2 minutes
only with the ammeter reading included in the data.
Upon reaching 2 minutes, the equipment would be
switched off, then the electrodes placed in the oven to
dry off the water. After drying, the electrodes were again
weighed but now with the copper deposits so the mass
readings were expected to increase. This constituted
one run. Two more runs were performed per trial. Once
the necessary data was collected, the experimental
values for the Faraday constant were calculated and the
average of the calculated values was taken as the final
result.
RESULTS & DISCUSSION
The electrolytic analyzer had room for two set-ups, one
on the left and another on the right. The one on the left
represented the first trial and the one on the right was
taken as the second trial. Note that all runs were
performed for 2 minutes or 120 seconds only. The
necessary data was gathered was recorded. The
following table shows the results for the two trials
performed simultaneously.
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 CHM171L Physical Chemistry 2 Laboratory
4th Quarter SY 2014-2015

Faraday constant 96,500 C/mol, our results had a

Table 1. Weight of Copper deposited on Platinum percent error of about 4%.
electrodes
Trial 1 (Left side)
Run Current mo of Pt mf of Pt m Cu CONCLUSION
(A) (g) (g) deposited
(g) It can be concluded, based on the results, that the
A 4.2 38.461 38.612 0.151 electrical energy supplied (in the form of the current) is
B 4.4 38.612 38.776 0.164 directly proportional to the rate of reaction. Furthermore,
C 4.6 38.776 38.943 0.167 the Faraday constant was experimentally determined
Trial 2 (Right side) with the use of the electrolytic analyzer equipment using
Run Current mo of Pt mf of Pt m Cu the mass of the copper deposited as basis. However,
(A) (g) (g) deposited the calculated value of 104,309.3209 C/mol had
(g) approximately 4% error when compared with the true
A 4.2 38.268 38.420 0.152 value of 96,500 C/mol. And finally, we were able to
B 4.1 38.420 38.569 0149 familiarize ourselves with the main equipment in use
C 4.2 38.569 38.722 0.153 which was the electrolytic analyzer, its parts, and how
to operate it.
It can be seen from the table above that as the current
increases by even the smallest bit, there is a directly
proportional effect on the amount of copper deposited. REFERENCES
This could mean that, the greater the current, the
greater the rate of reaction.
Atkins. (2010). Physical Chemistry.
Since the amount of Copper deposited is equal to twice Levin, I. (n.d.). Physical Chemistry 6th Ed.
the amount of electrons transferred according to the
half-cell reaction for Cu2+, the mole of electrons was
computed for using the following equation.

𝟏𝒎𝒐𝒍 𝑪𝒖 𝟐𝒎𝒐𝒍 𝒆
𝒏𝒆 = 𝒎𝑪𝒖 ( )( ) (Eqn. 2)
𝑴𝑾𝑪𝒖 𝟏𝒎𝒐𝒍 𝑪𝒖

Upon obtaining ne per run, we were finally able to

compute for the Faraday constant using the following
equation.

𝑸 𝑰𝒕
𝑭= = (Eqn. 3)
𝒏𝒆 𝒏𝒆

In Eqn. 3, I is the current in Amperes, t the time in

seconds, ne as the moles of electrons, and F as the
Faraday constant. We were able to calculate the value
of the constant as 104,309.3209 C/mol as the average.
The values per run ranged from about 102,000 C/mol to
106,000 C/mol. When compared to the true value of the

Experiment 01│ Group No. 1│ Date: May 8, 2015 3 of 3