edited by

ROBERT REEVES
Marlborough School
250 S. Rossmore Avenue
LOS Angeies. CA 90004

A Laboratory Exercise Introducing Students

to the Pourbaix Diagram for Cobalt
Dick Powell
Martin County High Schwl, Stuart, FL 33494
Jim Cortez
The Bolles School. 7400 San Jose Blvd., Jacksonville, FL 32217
E. K. Mellon
Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306

A maior cause of the neglect of simde chemistw in the oH

lahumt~;rY is the ~ i d r s ~ ) r e n d f e e ~ i ~ l g a m
teachersihat
ing
difficult to relate iiolated chemical reartiuns tu the theoreti-
cal models so prevalent in our beginning chemistry courses.
it is
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In this paper aseries of reactions of Co2+is founded upon the
Pourbaix diagram for the element cobalt, which displays
regions of thermodynamic stahility for the various stable
aquo-, hydroxo-, and oxo-cobalt species as a function of
proton and electron availability. A periodic table based on
Pourbaix diagrams was published by Campbell and Whi-
taker in 1969 ( I ) , but the present authors are not aware of
similarly based laboratory exercises published since.
Pourbalx Dlagrarns
The Pourbaix diagram (2) is a potential-pH plot which
displays some of the most thermodynamically stable species
for a given element. Regions of the diagram are illustrated
for water (or, more precisely, for hydrogen and oxygen) in
Figure 1where EH,the redox potential referred to the HTH
couple, is plotted on t h e ordinate versus pH (i.e., Figure 1. Various regions of an EpH
, diagram superimposedon the Pourbsix
-log[H30+]) on the abscissa. Pourbaix (3)refers to the neu- diagram for Hzand 0,.Lines b and c indicate the thermodynamicstability field
trality point, or "condition of absolute neutrality", as locat- of water, lines a and d the stability field of water expanded to include overPo-
tential, and lines e and f represent electrochemical and acidlbase neutrality.
ed at pH = 7.00 and EH = +0.40 V. The two heavy lines, e
respectively.
and f, which meet a t the neutrality point divide the diagram
into quadrants
. ..moton rich
I. Electron noor.
11. Flcrtrm poor, proton poor
I 1 1 K l t r t r m rich, proton rich
I\'. K l r c t r o n rich, proton poor
water is widened to include the area between lines e and d in
accord with the practice suggested by Latimer (4).
Along vertical line e water is considered to be neutral (with The Pourbaix diagram for cobalt (Fig. 2) is taken from the
respect to dissociation into H30+ and OH-) from an acid- "Atlas of Electrochemical Equilibria" (5).Above cobalt met-
base standpoint. Along diagonal line f water is considered al are displayed
. . the most stable ions, or aauo-, hvdroxv-, or
neutral (with respect to dissociation into Hp and 02) from a oxo-complrxrs, under given cmditions of electron and pn)-
redox standpoint. Above line h the decomposition of water Inn ava~lability.Coo:?has not been completely characterized
into Ozunder an oxygen pressure of 1atm is thermodynami- and the regioiso labeled may be considered ;chemical terra
cally spontaneous. Below line c the decomposition of water incognita. CosOa, which is obtained by heating CoC03 at 700
into H2under a hydrogen pressure of 1atm is thermodynam- "C for 1 h (61,does not figure in the experiments described
ically spontaneous. In principle, the field of thermodynamic here. No kinetic information is conveyed by Pourbaix dia-
stahility for water should be bounded by lines h and c, with grams. Fortunately, the experiments described herein pro-
some small adjustment for the partial pressures of Hz and ceed at rates convenient for beginning observers.
0 2 . In practice, however, chemistry usually can be conducted The tenuous nature of the water stahility limits used in
outside of the area bounded by lines h and c because the Figure 2 (the lines are drawn with dashes) is illustrated by
production of hydrogen and oxygen from water is hampered the apparent stability of uncomplexed Co3+: actually C03+
by overpotential. Thus in Figure 1, the stahility field of reacts with water to liberate 02. Thus the positions of the

Volume 64 Number 2 February 1987 165


-0.4 .. -...- STEP
..-.
.......
....
-0.8- p.
4rc$..
s?&;
-1.2--
co -.
Figure 2. The Pourbaixdiagramtor cobalt. The water stabilily field is bonded by
lines a and b (dashed llne) from Figure 1. The pmemiais ploned in Steps 1
lhrough 5 (see led) are reasonable appmximatlons.
water stability limits in Figure 2 must he taken as only
approximate.
Step 1: Demonstration
T h e following demonstration incorporating vivid color
changes is appropriate here to engage students' visualiza-
tion.
Place80mLof3.0M NaOH ina400-ml. beakrrand brginstirring
withamagneticrtirrer,ur haveastudent dothestirring. Add 6.0gof
V20. weighed out prior torlass. Slowly add it tu the ROmLof %OH.
The suspension changes from yellow to green yellow hefore clearing
to a greenish straw color.
When the solution reaches the straw color add 200 mL of 2.5 M
H2SOI very slowly. The color changes will be yellow, orange, red,
returnine to vellow. (Caution: Do not substitute h~droehloric
acid f o r h f & i c acid in the procedure just above.)
In strongly basic solution vanadium(V) exists as the color-
less orthovanadate ion.. V O. 3 (note the analoev with ortho-
phosphate, P043-). AS the drops, the v & a d i u m ( ~ ) is
sequentially converted (7)into condensation produds such
as divanadate, trivanadate, tetravanadate, and decavana-
date and various orotonated derivatives. T h e color of the
solution deepens &ward red as the number of condensed
vanadium atoms gets larger. In highly acidic media the yel-
low d i o x o v a n a d i u m ( V ) i o n , V02+ ( p r o b a b l y c i s -
[V02(H20)4]+ (a),is formed.
Typically, students will want to know how you make those
colors. Ideally, this gives you the opening needed to lead
them to the laboratory to investigate for themselves:
li you want to inwsrignre some different color changes, here is
something you ran try. Let's shift elements from vanadium to
cobalt.
Step 2: Student lnvestlgatlon
Afford the student an opportunity t o investigate without
the bounds of someone else's questions and methods. Lab-
oratory technique and method should be developed to such
an extent that the student is able to operate safely in the
laboratory. If students require more structure it can bein the
form of Gestions that wiil suggest a possible approach to a
166 Journal of Chemical Education
problem rather than "Do this" directions, for example,
"What do you know about the behavior of hydrogen ions in
solution?" "Does your book have an index with that word in
it?"
Things To Watch Foc
1. Limit the volume of the solutions. Small test tube and medicine
dropper amounts are appropriate.
2. The laboratory investigation can be run the same period as the
demonstration is given or can be run during a separate period the
following day.
3. In case students recognize that they can test for the gas being
evolved, have waoden splints on hand so they can do so.
Step 3: Reconclllatlon: Potential-pH Diagrams
After completion of the investigation, many students will
need a quick and simple review of concepts to help them
shape what they have seen and done. One method of doing
thi'is to re-run the lab in a systematic sequence of steps,
building a portion of the potential-pH diagram on the board
with each step. The series of directions below illustrates a
technique to accomplish this important step linking obser-
vation to chemical equation. Use the same concentrations
the students used in the lab. The only difference should be
the volume used.
For the first-year students the Pourbaix diagram may he
interpreted in terms of the quadrant model (electron poor,
electron rich, etc.) alone, while for second-year and AP stu-
dents quantification in terms of the Nernst equation ( 2 , 5 )
may beintroduced.
The "steps" identified in the directions refer to the num-
bered steps in Figure 2.
1. Prepare the following solutions: 0.5 M NnOH, 6 M HCI, 0.1 M
CoCI, ,118gCoCI2.6H2Oplus 1 mL6M HCIdilutedtuO.51.,31.
H A
2. To 4 mL of 0.1 M CoClzadd in one portion with stirring 4 mL of
0.5 M NaOH.
The a-Co(0H)z (blue, crystalline) which forms immediately
isomerizes within 1min into tan-pink ~ - C O ( O H(9).
) ~(See Step
1 in Fig. 2.)
3. Allow the solution from Direction 2 to stand for at lest 3 h. The
@-CO(OH)~ has now been air oxidized to dark brown CO(OH)Z
(better: CoO(OH).aq (10). (Step 2) This step is accomplished
much more rapidly by the addition of 3%HzOz.
4. Add 4 mL of 6 M HC1 to the solution from Direction 2 and heat
to 90 OC. Most often, pink, hydrated Co' is formed. (Step 3) If
the chloride ion concentration is high enough, blue COCI~~-
forms,then reverts to pink Co2+upon cooling (ice bath).
The following set of reactions is best done as a demonstra-
tion because of the caustic nature of concentrated KOH.
Caution: Use eye protection!
5 Prepwe the fdhming adutions: I4 M KOH (15.7 g KOH dts-
wived in 20 m L d HIO with heat, stirring);Re< H&
6 Heat 20mLuf 14 M KOH to80H1"Candadd 4 mLaft1.l MCoCI,.
Cobalt hlue HCoOl- (better: Co(0H)F (11)) is formed. (see
.... .
Sten 4.)
7 . Cod the solurion from 1)ircction5 to below 6 0 T and add 2 ml.
of Re, H?O>slowly to minimm effervescence.Co(OH),is formed
tStep51 along with02from the rohnlt-mmlyzed dsrornposition
of the hydrogen peroxide.
8. Add 6 M HC1 to the cooled solution from Direction 6 until
acidic, and heat. Aqueous cahalt(I1) forms. (SF Step 3.)
9. Use a safety shield and eye protection!
Finally, use of CoC126H20 as the source of aqueous
cobalt(I1) allows some chemistry not displayed on the Pour-
baix diagram to be sampled:
10. To 4 mL of 0.1 M CoC12 add 0.5 M NaOH dropwise without
stirring. S-CO(OH)Z forms first and is rapidly converted into a
green, basic cobalt chloride (best represented as 4Ca(OH)y
CoCl(OH).4H?O ( 1 2 ) ) . On a month-lone standine in contact
wirh nrltxrotls~obaltrili.the firat-formeipreen,basic chloride
inrerrcmvrrtc into n pink form. Co2CI!OH,,.Ruth badic chlu-
rder mn?.he oxidized toCo<OHhby 3"r,02.
 4. Latimer, W. M. T h e Oridolion Stole* 01 the Elamsnls and T h r i r Potantids i n
Safety Information S<dulion,2nd ed. Prentice-Hall: Engiowood Cliffs, NJ, 1952, p 12. Ref 7,p 737.
5. Piwrhnir, M.Atios ~ f E l r c t r o c h ~ m i c oEquilibria
1 in Aqueow Solutions; Franklin, J.
Acids and bases a r e caustic. Bases, especially, should A.,Tranr.; Pewamon: Oxford. 1966, p 325.
not be allowed to contact t h e eyes. fi. Clsmrer.O.InHondbookolPreplrmlicr lnorganicChemistry,2nded.:Brsuer,G.,Ed;
Academic: NPWYmk. l9fi5:Vd 2, P ,620.
Acknowledgment 7. Gleenwnod. N. N.;Earnrhaw, A. Chemiriry ofthe Elements: Pergamon:Orlord, 19U.
",>AS

This exercise is based upon material contained in Labora-

.
tory Exercises in Chemistry' produced by 13 high school 9. Hemy, H.T r w t i s r on lnorgonk Chemistry: Elsevier: Amsterdam, 1956, Val. 2, p 293.
chemistry teachers who attended the NSF-Sponsored Hon- 10. Ref7. p 1297.
11. Ref8. p768.
ors Workshop conducted a t Florida State University during 12. Ref%Vol. 2, p 298.
the summer of 1984 under Grant SPE-84-70146.
Literature Cited
1. Camnhell. J. A : Whitaker, R. A. J Chem.Educ. 1969,46,90.
2. Barnum. D. W.J. Chem. Educ. 1982.59.809.
~ ~~~~t~~~~
S. P , ~ U ~ M. ~ X , on ~ ~ ~ ~corrosion;
t ~ J. A.~ s..~hm n s ~.plenum:
~ereen, : ~ i ~ '
~ Single
i copies of the Laboratory Exercises in Chemistry may be
N ~ ~W m k , ,9 7 2 , ~115. obtained from E. K. Mellon at the above address.

Volume 64 Number 2 February 1987 167