For the exclusive use of Chem 86L OTL class in Xavier-Ateneo

Name: Bantug, Athaliah Jenine T. Locker No.:

Co-Workers: Bullan, Florence C. Section: CHEM 86L - E1B2
Dequeros, Grachielle Edrea A. Date Performed:
Attendance:

Expt. 2 Corrosion of Iron

I. I. Objectives: Pre-lab data:

to To
be be able
able to determine
to determine thethe type
type of reaction
of reaction thatthat occur
occur in
in the Observations:
theofrusting
rusting iron, toofdetermine
iron the two half-reactions during the Analysis:
To be able
formation to determine
of rust, to define the two half
sacrificial reactions
metal, and toduring the
describe
Conclusion:
formation
sacrificial of rust
protection.
To be able to define sacrificial metal and describe TOTAL:
sacrificial protection
II. Apparatus: III. Symbols of Chemicals:
Agar
agar gelgel
agar - CC14
gel H24OO9,,Potassium
C24H38O19
H PotassiumNitrate
NitrateKNO 3,
- KNO
3 petri
petri dishes,
dishes, beaker,
beaker, hot
3 iron nails,
plate, silver strip,
magnetic stir 14
24 38 19
24 9 3,
Potassium
Potassium
Potassium ferricyanide
ferrocyanide
Nitrate KNOK
-K [Fe(CN)
4 ,[Fe(CN)
], Iron Fe,
6 ], Iron - Fe,
hot plate, magnetic
bar, nails stir bar, balance 4
Silver Ag, Water H2O, Iron(III) oxide 6Fe3O2,
Silver
Potassium
- Ag, Waterferrocyanide
- H2O K4[Fe(CN)6]
Phenolphthalein solution C20H14O4
IV. Procedure: (Note: Write schematic diagram on the last page provided)

V. Observations

A. Description of each nail in the petri dishes

Initial Reaction Final Reaction
(After 48 hours)
Head: ample size yellow,
Head: colorless
ample size blue
Middle: colorless
Silver-wrapped iron nail Middle: ample size purple
pink
Tip: colorless
Tip: ample size blue
Shape: straight
Shape: straight

Head: colorless Head: purple

pink
Middle: colorless Middle: purple
pink
Iron nail in contact with iron oxide Tip: blue
Tip: colorless
Shape: straight Shape: straight

Head: colorless Head: blue

3

Middle: colorless Middle: yellow, blue, purple

pink
Standard straight iron nail
Page

Tip: colorless Tip: blue

Shape: straight Shape: straight

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B. Illustrate/draw observed changes in the iron nails

Initial Reaction Final Reaction
(After 48 hours)

Silver-wrapped iron nail

Iron nail in contact with

iron oxide

Standard straight iron nail

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VI. Analysis

POST-LAB QUESTIONS: Limit your answers to 3-5 sentences.

1. Compare the colors observed on the straight nail and the nail coated with iron oxide, particularly
at the head, at the pointed end, and at middle area, and differentiate from each of the nails. What
happened to the agar at these sites? Account for the colors formed based on the electrochemical
reaction and ions produced in corrosion.
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The colors surrounding the straight nail are blue, blue & pink, and blue on the top, middle, and
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tip respectively. While on the nail coated with iron oxide, it was blue above the tip and then pink
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on the head and middle. The agar on both dishes acts as an indicator as to where reduction and
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oxidation occurred. In the dish with the coated nail, oxidation only happened on a small interval
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right above the tip and reduction happened from the middle to its head, while in the other dish,
oxidation happened on the head, middle, and tip, and reduction happened on small intervals
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between where oxidation occurred

2. Compare the colors observed on the silver-wrapped nail and the nail coated with iron oxide
Explain the differences observed between the two nails. What can you infer about the role of
silver and iron oxide in the corrosion of iron metal?
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There was an ample size of color blue on the top and the tip of the silver-wrapped nail with an
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ample size of pink on the middle, while the coated nail only has a small blue on top of the tip
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and then pink all over it. All in all, there was more color in the dish with the silver-wrapped nail
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than the other dish. This signifies that redox reaction happened more on the silver-coated nail
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than the coated nail. It can be inferred then that silver can cause a faster rate of corrosion to the
iron than the iron oxide. In other words, iron oxide is a better sacrificial protection for the iron.

3. Based on the results of this experiment, what are the factors that contribute to the corrosion of
iron?
There are so many factors that could cause corrosion, including diffusion, temperature,
______________________________________________________________________________
conductivity, type of ions, pH value, and electrochemical potential but based on the result of the
______________________________________________________________________________________
experiment, the factors that have affected the rate of corrosion are water and oxygen. When the
______________________________________________________________________________________
metal comes in contact with oxygen, it creates a chemically unstable state. Oxygen reacts with
______________________________________________________________________________________
dissolved iron to form iron oxide, and iron oxide is the rust that is present in the nails
______________________________________________________________________________________
experimented. The rust that forms on iron metal flakes off, exposing fresh metal, which also
corrodes. The presence of water in this experiment is also a relevant factor causing the
______________________________________________________________________________________
corrosion. All water contains some dissolved oxygen and is, therefore, somewhat corrosive.

4. What methods are used to reduce the corrosion of metals?

______________________________________________________________________________
Corrosion is usually defined as the degradation of metals due to an electrochemical process. The
______________________________________________________________________________________
methods used to reduce corrosion on metals are coating and active cathodic protection, specifically
sacrificial treatment. Sacrificial protection is the protection of iron or steel against corrosion by using a
______________________________________________________________________________________
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more reactive metal. However, in the first Petri dish, the nail is covered with silver that is a less
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reactive metal. Since the a part from the metal was covered, it would promote a greater impact on the
______________________________________________________________________________________
rest of the portions that have not been covered by the coating. In the second Petri dish, the nail is in
______________________________________________________________________________________
contact with iron oxide that turns out to be a more reactive metal than the nail itself. Thus, the iron
oxide used became the sacrificial metal to prevent corrosion in the nail. And lastly, a straight iron nail.
The nail on this Petri dish is much faster to get rusted since it has not used any method to achieve the
prevention of corrosion.

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VII. Conclusion
______________________________________________________________________________________
Corrosion of iron was caused by oxidation-reduction reaction between the 3 different conditioned
iron nails and its surroundings. The blue area is where oxidation occurred and where Fe2+was
______________________________________________________________________________________
-
______________________________________________________________________________________
released, while the pink area is where reduction occurred and where OH was present. Among
______________________________________________________________________________________
the 3 nails, the silver-wrapped nail had a faster rate of corrosion and the iron oxide-coated nail
______________________________________________________________________________________
had a slower rate of corrosion. By nature, silver is less reactive than iron, while iron oxide is more
reactive. Therefore, iron oxide is better to become a sacrificial metal for iron and this was proven
because in the experiment, iron oxide helped slow down the reaction on the iron nail.

Schematic Diagram

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