CHEMICAL KINETICS: IODINE CLOCK REACTION
[Redacted]
a
University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City, 1101 Philippines
ARTICLE INFO
Article history:
Date Performed:
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Keywords:
Iodine Clock Reaction, Chemical
Kinetics, Rate Law, Temperature,
Catalyst, Concentration
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Chemical reactions are studied by analyzing the
combination of reactants and the products the
combination yield. Often, what are discussed are
the identities and quantities of these reactants and
products. According to Siberberg1, however, in
chemical kinetics, chemical reactions are studied
by observing the changes in concentrations of
reactants or products as a function of time. Simply,
it is the study of reaction rates. Studying chemical
kinetics is very important, especially in the
industry. It can be applied in household activities
like cooking and house upkeep. It can be applied in
production, generally, for faster production like in
the formation of fossil fuels, and in mass
production (e.g. medicines).
Considering the general reaction aA + bB
dD while applying the rules of stoichiometry,
reaction rates can be computed using this formula:
1 ∆[𝐴] 1 ∆[𝐵] 1 ∆[𝐶] 1 ∆[𝐷]
𝑅𝑎𝑡𝑒 = − 𝑎 = −𝑏 = =
∆𝑡 ∆𝑡 𝑐 ∆𝑡 𝑑 ∆𝑡
In chemical kinetics, four factors, namely the
concentration of the reactants, the physical state
of the reactants, the temperature at which the
reaction occurs, and the presence of a catalyst,
affect the rate of a reaction.1
While the rate of the reaction can simply be
obtained using (1), when different factors are
involved, different equations are used. To
determine the effect of concentration on reaction
rates, the rate law (or rate equation) is used.
Consider the reaction aA + Bb … → gG + hH …,
where a, b, … are the coefficients in the balanced
reaction. To get the rate law of this reaction, this
equation is used:
ABSTRACT
The concept of chemical kinetics was applied to the iodine clock
reaction. This study aimed to describe the kinetics of the
reaction of I- and S2O82-, and determine the rate law of the
reaction, the pertinent values of the Arrhenius equation for the
reaction, and the effects of the three factors that can affect the
rate of reactions in the experiment. Using the reaction of I2 to
starch, the experiment was made easier. By manipulating the
three factors that could affect the reaction rate, the trends were
observed. It was found out that the concentration of clock
chemical, and the temperature are directly proportional to the
rate of reaction. The presence of a catalyst also increased the
rate of reaction. The value of the Arrhenius constant was
70975.66778, and the value of the activation energy was
7.046271357 kJ mol-1. The obtained rate law of the reaction was
𝑅𝑎𝑡𝑒 = 0.304375 𝑀−2 𝑠 −1 [𝑆2 𝑂8−2 ]2 [𝐼 − ].
𝑅𝑎𝑡𝑒 = 𝑘 [𝐴]𝑚 [𝐵]𝑛 . . . (2)
The [A], [B], … represent the concentration of the
reactants, while their exponents m, n, … represent
the order. The order affects the initial rate of
reaction. As a reaction goes up an order, its initial
rate doubles. The k in the equation represents the
rate constant of the equation. The rate constant is
a proportionality constant whose value is
dependent on the reaction, the temperature, and
the presence of a catalyst. It relates the rate of the
reaction to the concentrations of the different
reactants. The higher the value of k, the faster the
reaction is.3
To determine the effect of temperature on the
reaction rate, the Arrhenius equation was used:
−𝐸𝑎
𝑘 = 𝐴𝑒 𝑅𝑇 (3)
→ +cC
In this equation, A is related to the orientation of
the colliding particles, k is the rate constant, e is
the base of natural logarithms, Ea is the activation
energy, T is the absolute temperature, and R is the
(1) universal gas constant.1
Clock reactions are reactions that deal with a low-
concentration chemical species called a “clock
chemical” having a rapid increase in its
concentration after an induction period. This time
where there is a rapid increase in concentration
can usually be observed by a dramatic color change
in the solution.2 With how it works, clock reactions
can be perfect avenues to be used in observing the
effects of the different factors on the chemical
kinetics of specific reactions.
In this experiment, an iodine clock was chosen to
be studied. There are 2 reactions that were
simultaneously happening in the beaker:
𝑆2 𝑂82− + 2𝐼 − → 2𝑆𝑂42− + 𝐼2 (𝑠𝑙𝑜𝑤) (4)
1
 2𝑆2 𝑂32− + 𝐼2 → 𝑆4 𝑂62− + 2𝐼 − (𝑓𝑎𝑠𝑡)
This study aimed to describe the kinetics of the
reaction of I- and S2O82-, determine the rate law of
the reaction using the initial rate method,
determine the pertinent values of the Arrhenius
equation for this reaction, and determine the
effects of the three factors that can affect the rate
of reactions on the reactions in the experiment.
2.0 Methodology
2.1 Materials and Reagents
In the experiment, alcohol thermometers, 50mL
beakers, 250mL beakers, cellphone timers, glass
bottles, a hot plate, ice cubes, 5mL measuring
pipettes, 10mL measuring pipettes, Parafilm,
Pasteur pipettes, glass stirring rods, a top loading
balance, and 500mL volumetric flasks were used.
Reagents, namely Copper sulfate (CuSO4),
Potassium chloride (KCl), Potassium iodide (KI),
Potassium persulfate (K2S2O8), Potassium sulfate
(K2SO4), Sodium thiosulfate (Na2S2O3 . 5H2O),
distilled water, and 1% fresh starch solution, were
also used in the experiment.
(5) beakers A and B from 2b were heated at around
50˚C in a water bath. After heating, the solution
from beaker A was mixed into the solution in
beaker B. After the transfer, the timer was
immediately started. Like in the first procedure,
the time it took for the first tinge of the color blue
to appear in beaker B was recorded.
Beakers A and B from 2c were then placed in an ice
bath until the temperature was about 5˚C. After
achieving the desired temperature, the contents of
beaker A were mixed into the contents of beaker B,
and once again, the reaction was timed right after
the two solutions were mixed. The time it took for
a tinge of blue to show in beaker B was recorded.
2.2.3 Effect of Catalyst on the Reaction Rate
A fourth set of “run 2”, referred to as 2d was
prepared. After mixing in the solution from beaker
A to the solution from beaker B, 4 drops of 0.01M
CuSO4 was placed in the resulting mixture. Right
after mixing all of the solutions, the timer was
started. The time it took for a tinge of blue to
appear in the solution was recorded and compared
to the data from 2a.
3.0 Results and Discussion

2.2 Procedures 3.1 Effect of Persulfate and Iodide Concentrations on

the Reaction Rate
2.2.1 Effect of Persulfate and Iodide
Concentrations on the Reaction Rate In the solution, the function of the starch and
To determine the effect of the concentration of S2O32-was for the color change. After (4) produced
Persulfate and Iodide concentration on the the I2, the I2 was immediately used in (5). In (5),
reaction rate, various runs of the reactions of the S2O32- got consumed, and when all of it was
same reagents, but with different concentrations consumed, the I2 reacted with the starch solution
were done. For every run, 2 beakers with different to form a blue complex. In all of the reactions, the
solutions were mixed. The solutions that were drastic color change of a colorless solution to a
placed in the 2 beakers named A, and B, for the dark blue solution was caused by the reaction of I2,
different runs were prepared with the following which denotes the end of the consumption of S 2O32-
volumes of the different reagents at room .
temperature:
Table 2: Effect of Reactant Concentration on
Table 1. The different runs for the effect of Reaction Rate
concentrations in reaction rates Run [S2O82-] [I-] [S2O32-]
Reaction Rate,
Time, s M s-1
Beaker B ( + 3 drops of fresh
Beaker A
starch)
Run 1 0.02 M 0.08 M 8 x 10-4 M 41.10 s 9.74 x 10-6 M s-1
0.2M 0.1M 0.1M 4.0mM
0.2M KI
KCl K2S2O8 K2SO4 Na2S2O3
2 0.02 M 0.04 M 8 x 10-4 M 106 s 3.78 x 10-6 M s-1

1 10.0 mL 0.0 mL 5.0 mL 5.0 mL 5.0 mL

3 0.02 M 0.02 M 8 x 10-4 M 162.47 s 2.46 x 10-6 M s-1

2a 5.0 mL 5.0 mL 5.0 mL 5.0 mL 5.0 mL

4 0.03 M 0.04 M 8 x 10-4 M 56.8 s 7.04 x 10-6 M s-1

3 2.5 mL 7.5 mL 5.0 mL 5.0 mL 5.0 mL

5 0.04 M 0.04 M 8 x 10-4 M 33.84 s 1.18 x 10-5 M s-1

4 5.0 Ml 5.0 mL 7.5 mL 2.5 mL 5.0 mL

5 5.0 mL 5.0 mL 10.0 mL 0.0 mL
After preparing the solutions for beakers A and B,
the solution from beaker A was transferred into
beaker B, and then the timer was immediately
started. Right after a tinge of the color blue was
seen in beaker B, the timer was stopped. The time
it took for the color blue to appear in every run
was recorded.
2.2.2 Effect of Temperature on the Reaction Rate
After preparing two new sets of “run 2” from the
first procedure, which is referred to as 2b and 2c,
5.0 mL Table 2 shows the varying concentrations of the
S2O82-, I-, and S2O32-, the reaction times, and the
rates of the different runs in the first part of the
experiment. Only the reaction time values were
the data obtained from the experiment that were
unprocessed. The values of the concentrations of
the different reactants were computed using:
𝑀1 𝑉1 = 𝑀2 𝑉2 (6)
To determine the rate of the reaction, (1) was
used. In (5), the molar ratio of [S2O32-] and [I-] was
2:1. Using stoichiometry, the value of [A] that was

2
placed in (1), was 0.5[S2O32-], and the value of
is the reaction time.
By using the values from Table 2 in (2), the order
of the reaction was determined. Because there are
only two reactants, the rate law used was:
𝑅𝑎𝑡𝑒 = 𝑘 [𝐴]𝑚 [𝐵]𝑛 (7)
Using the data from the different runs, the orders
and rate constant were determined.
𝑅𝑎𝑡𝑒 = 0.304375 𝑀−2 𝑠 −1 [𝑆2 𝑂8−2 ]2 [𝐼 − ]
The overall order of the reaction was 3, which was
obtained from the sum of the orders of [S2O82-] and
[I-].
The equation of the graph of the ln rate vs. ln
[S2O82], which was obtained using a scientific
calculator, is y= 1.635202512x – 6.100901334,
with an r2 of 0.9980306428.
The equation of the graph of the ln rate vs. ln [I-],
which was obtained using a scientific calculator, is
y= 0.9926317284x – 0.9926317284, with an r2 of
0.9550705074.
∆𝑡 also has the highest value for reaction time, rate,
and rate constant. While Set 2, having the lowest
temperature, has the lowest value for reaction
time, rate, and rate constant. This implies that the
relationship between the reaction rates and
temperature. The experimental trend is parallel to
the theoretical trend.1
As shown in (3), the Arrhenius constant and
activation energy is always involved in reactions
that have varying temperatures. The Arrhenius
constant refers to the frequency of successful
(8) molecule collision, which makes it directly
proportional to the reaction rate. The activation
energy, however, referring to the energy needed
for a reaction to occur, has an inverse relationship
with the reaction rate.1 In the experiment, the
computed activation energy is 7.046271357 kJ mol-
1
, while its computed Arrhenius constant is
70975.66778.
ln(k) vs. 1/T
2
1
ln (k) 0
-1
0.003365304 0.003533569 0.002983739 0.003365304

-2
Through the order of the two reactants, the role of
the reactants in affecting the reaction rate can be 1/T
explained. If the order increases, the role of the
Figure 1. Graph of plot ln K vs. 1/T
reactant in the rate of reaction becomes greater.
So in the case of this reaction, the concentration of
With the use of linear regression, the calculated
S2O82- affects the reaction rate more that the
equation of the line of the plot ln k vs 1/T is:
concentration of the I- does. By looking at (8),
y = -7044.451153x + 11.17009239 (9)
theoretically, it can be said that the relationship
with an r2 value = 0.9994834236
between the concentrations and rate is direct.
Generally, as the concentration increases, the rate
3.3 Effect of Catalyst on the Reaction Rate
of reaction increases with it. Looking at Table 1, it
is obvious that the experimental data supports the
Table 4: Effect of Catalyst on Reaction Rate
theoretical explanation. Reaction Rate, Rate
Run 2 Temp, K
Time, s M s-1 Constant
3.2 Effect of Temperature on the Reaction Rate
Set 1 297.15 K 106 s 3.78 x 10-6 M s-1 0.23625 M-2 s-1

Table 3: Effect of Temperature on Reaction Rate Set 4 297.15 K 21.23 s 1.88 x 10-5 M s-1 1.175 M-2 s-1
Reaction Rate, Rate
Run 2 Temp, K
Time, s M s-1 Constant

Set 1 297.15 K 106 s 3.78 x 10-6 M s-1 0.23625 M-2 s-1 Table 4 shows the effect of the catalyst on the
reaction time, rate, and rate constant. Set 4,
Set 2 283 K 378 s 1.06 x 10-6 M s-1 0.06625 M-2 s-1 having the CuSO4, was the setup with a catalyst. It
can be easily contstrued that the presence of the
Set 3 335.15 K 7.69 s 5.20 x 10-5 M s-1 3.25 M-2 s-1
catalyst, the reaction time became a lot aster, and
the rate and rate constant became higher. This was
Table 3 shows the varying temperatures, the the case because the catalyst CuSO4- provided an
reaction times, the rates of the different runs, and alternative pathway that had a lower activation
the rate constants of the different runs in the energy.1
second and third part of the experiment. The
temperature and reaction time values were
unprocessed data obtained from the experiment.
The rates was computed in the same way as the
rates from Table 2. The rate constant, however,
was computed using the concentration values of
run 2 from Table 2, rate values from Table 3, and
equation (8).

From the values of Set 1, 2, and 3 in Table 3, the

effect of temperature on the reaction rate is
evident. Set 3, having the highest temperature,

3
 R. General Chemistry: Principles and Modern
Applications, 10th ed.; Pearson Canada: Toronto,
2010.

Figure 2. Pathway of catalyzed and uncatalyzed

reaction1

In determining the most probable mechanism, (4),

(5), and (8) should be considered. Given that the 2
reactions were already labeled as “fast” and
“slow”, and the order was already computed, the
most probable mechanism is:

(10)

3.4 Errors

Compared to other studies, the some of the results

were relatively the same, while a few were a bit
different. The discrepancies may have been caused
by errors. In all experiments, errors are inevitable.
The possible errors committed in this experiment
are the possibility of the glasswares that were
used to be not dry enough or the inaccuracy of the
top loading balance in measuring the mass of the
powders being diluted in the solutions, thus
making the solutions not have accurate
concentrations. Another possible source of error is
the difference in judgments of the different
viewers, thus producing data that are not precise.

4.0 Conclusion

The kinetics of the reaction can be controlled using

the different factors (e.g. temperature). Using the
initial rate method the rate law of the reaction was
𝑅𝑎𝑡𝑒 = 0.304375 𝑀−2 𝑠 −1 [𝑆2 𝑂8−2 ]2 [𝐼 − ]. It was observed
that the presence of catalyst and the temperature
is directly proportional to the reaction rate. The
computed value of the Arrhenius constant was
70975.66778, and the activation energy was
7.046271357 kJ mol-1.

References

Silberberg, M. Principles of General Chemistry, 2nd

ed.; McGraw-Hill: New York, 2010.

Bilingham, J.; King, A.; Preece, S. Chemical Clock

Reactions: The Effect of Precursor Consumption. J.
Math. Chem. 1999,0, 1-20.

Bissonnette, C.; Herrring, F.; Madura, J.; Petrucci,