CHEMISTRY

INVESTIGATORY
PROJECT
Effect of Metal
Coupling on
Corrosion
Submitted to : Mr.
Najumudeen
Submitted by : Reshop
Nanda .P
Class : XII A6

CONTENTS
Acknowledgement
Certificate
Introduction
Resistance to corrosion
Aim
Materials Required
Theory
Procedure
Observations
Conclusions
Precautions
Protection from corrosion
Biblography

Acknowledgement
I am using this opportunity to express my
gratitude to everyone who supported me throughout
the course ofthis project.
I am thankful for their aspiring guidance,
invaluably constructive criticism and friendly
advice during the project work. I am sincerely
grateful to them for sharing their truthful and
illuminating views on a number of issues related to
the project.
I would like to express my special thanks of gratitude
to my teacher Mr.Najumudeen as well as our
principal Mr.Krishnamoorthy who gave me the golden
opportunity to do this wonderful project on the topic
Effect of Metal Coupling on Corrosion, which also
helped me in doing a lot of Research and
Icame to know about so many new things I am
really thankful to them.
Secondly I would also like to thank my parents and
friends who helped me a lot in finalizing this project
within the limited time frame.

P. Reshop nanda
Class : XII-A6

Introduction :
Corrosionis the gradual destruction of

materials (usuallymetals) by chemical

reaction with their environment.
Corrosion is a serious problem of some metals
like iron, zinc, aluminium and alloys like brass
which are commonly used in day to day life.
Basically , this means
electrochemicaloxidationof metals in reaction
with an oxidant such asoxygen.
Rusting, the formation of ironoxides, is a
well-known example of electrochemical
corrosion. This type of damage typically
producesoxide(s) orsalt(s) of the original
metal.
Corrosion can also occur in materials other
than metals, such asceramicsorpolymers,
although in this context, the term degradation
is more common.
Corrosion degrades the useful properties of
materials and structures including strength,
appearance and permeability to liquids and
gases.

EXAMPLES OF
CORROSION

corrosion of iron

corrosion of aliminium
corrosion in zinc

corrosion in copper

Resistance to corrosion
Some metals are more intrinsically resistant to
corrosion than others .
There are various ways of protecting metals
from corrosion (oxidation) including
painting,hot dip galvanizing, and
combinations of these.
Intrinsic chemistry
Gold nuggetsdo not naturally corrode, even
on a geological time scale.
The materials most resistant to corrosion are
those for which corrosion
isthermodynamicallyunfavorable. Any
corrosion products ofgoldorplatinumtend to
decompose spontaneously into pure metal,
which is why these elements can be found in
metallic form on Earth and have long been
valued. More common "base" metals can only
be protected by more temporary means.

Metals resistance
to corrosion:

Gold
platinum

titanium

AIM:To study the

rate of corrosion
in different
types of metals

Materials
required:Apparatus:

Beakers-15
Iron sheets of 2
Aluminium rods of 2
Brass rods of 2
Zinc sheets of 2
Measuring cylinders
Chemical Balance
Weight Box.

Chemicals:

THE PROCESS OF
RUSTING OF IRON

Procedure :1. Mix 9 ml. of conc. HCl with 241 ml. of water to
form 250 ml. of solution.
2. Take this solution in seven different beakers.
3. Mark each beaker serially from 1 to 7.
4. Take the weights of three iron sheets, three
aluminium rods, three brass rods and three zinc
sheets.
5. Now keep iron sheets, aluminium rods, zinc sheets
and brass rod in separate beakers
6. Then take iron + brass, iron + aluminium, iron +
zinc, aluminium + zinc and brass + zinc and keep
them in different beakers.
7. Allow the reactions to occur for 24 hours.
8. Note the maximum and minimum temperatures.
9. Now at the end of reaction take out the metals and
keep them in sun for sometime so that they get
dried up quickly
10.Take the weights of each specimen and note the
difference.
11.Similarly repeat 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 and 8 steps in a basic
solution.

Observation :These experiments are done

under acidic condition
Sl. Specimen (with
No acid)

Initial
weight
(in gm)

Final weight
(in gm)

Brass

Iron

Zinc

6.50

Aluminium

7.10

Aluminium + Iron

15

12.30

Brass + Zinc

15

13.00

Iron + Zinc

15

14.10

Observation :These experiments are done

under basic condition
Sl. Specimen (with
No base)

Initial
weight
(in gm)

Final
weight
(in gm)

Brass

5.80

Iron

6.20

Zinc

7.10

Aluminium

7.60

Aluminium + Iron

15

12.90

Brass + Zinc

15

13.60

Iron + Zinc

15

14.40

The order of
corrosion of metals

Result : The rate of corrosion observed in acidic medium or

the mass consumed during the corrosion is in the
decreasing order from brass to aluminum.
Brass has the highest corrosion rate while
aluminium has the least corrosion rate.
Brass > Iron > Zinc > Aluminium
When coupling of these metals was done each
couple showed some difference in their corrosion
with respect to each metal kept alone
Iron + Aluminium couple has the highest rate of
corrosion while iron +Zinc couple has the lowest rate
of corrosion.
Rate of corrosion of each couple is in the order of
Iron + Aluminium > Brass + Zinc> Iron + Zinc

Result : Rate of corrosion in basic medium is in

the decreasing order from Brass to
Aluminium.
The order of rate of corrosion is as
below:
Brass > Zinc >Iron > Aluminium
When these metals were coupled the
rate of corrosion was in the decreasing
order from
Brass+ Aluminium > Brass + Zinc >
Iron + Aluminium
Temperature and time of reaction
were constant i.e., temperature was
21 C and time of reaction was 24
hours.

Result : Corrosion is a serious problem of some metals like

iron, zinc, aluminium and alloys like brass which are
commonly used in day to day life.
Apart from reducing the life of articles made up of
these metals or alloys the chemical substances
formed out of corrosion have serious public health
problems.
Replacement of machines or their parts and many
other articles in industrial and public dealing lead to
huge expenditure.
Hence, how to reduce or avoid corrosion of articles
made up of metals or alloys has been a major subject
of study in the field of chemistry and electrochemistry.
The study of the rate of corrosion of different metals
or alloys showed gradual decrease in their masses in
acidic medium. The decrease is in the order of brass,
iron, zinc, aluminium.
The present experiments are in full agreement with
the well known electro-chemical reaction. Some of the
typical reactions as occur with iron are illustrated.

Result: The reactions at respective

electrodes are:
2
At cathode: Fe
Fe + 2e.
in acid the equilibrium is
HCl
H + Cl .
At anode:
The water which is in
equilibrium
2
HO
H + OH.

Here the Fe2+ cation will readily take Cl

and
3 form FeCl . While H of acid will be
reacting with
2
another H+ of water and will form H gas.
While OH. Anion
will also react with some
3
of the iron and will form Fe(OH) which is
observed in the form of

Conclusion : The e.m.f of these metals are in the order of

Al:Zn:Fe .

The values are e.m.f

Al
Al3 + 3eZn
Zn2 + 2eFe
Fe 2 + 2e-

1.66V
0.76V
0.44V

Brass which is an alloy of zinc and copper has

the e.m.f. 0.42V during the forward reaction or
oxidation reaction.
While in backward reaction the e.m.f. value is
0.42.
This is because during oxidation reaction the
e.m.f values of zinc and copper are .0.76 and
+ 0.34, respectively. That is why the value
differs.

Conclusion :+

In acid there are replaceable H ions which react with

metals and H2 gas is evolved. This is because all the
metals are highly electronegative in nature. When these
two come in contact they react very easily and form
stable compounds. Thus the rate of corrosion is very
high. The rate of corrosion in basic medium is very less as
compared to acidic medium.
This is shown because of following factors:
(i) Ex: sodium hydroxide .
NaOH which is in equilibrium with Na +and OH. -ions.
NaOH

Na

+ OH

When NaOH comes in contact with water the two ions

immediately dissociate. The hydrates Na+ ions will take
the H+ ion.
The electropositive characters here will be the main
factor in the slow rate of corrosion. Na being more
electropositive than the metal mentioned above, most of
+ compared to the other
OH ions will be taken by Na when
metals
i.e., the rate of corrosion is slow with Na+ \ Fe2+ ||
OH\OH- While H+ + electron = H H + H = H2 gas.

Protection from
corrosion : Applied coatings :
Plating,painting, and the application
ofenamelare the most commonanticorrosiontreatments. They work by providing a
barrier of corrosion-resistant material between the
damaging environment and the structural material.

Cathodic protection :
Cathodic protection (CP) is a technique to control
the corrosion of a metal surface by making that
surface the cathode of anelectrochemical cell.
Cathodic protection systems are most commonly
used to protect steel, water, and fuelpipelinesand
tanks; steel pierpiles, ships, and offshoreoil
platforms.

Anodic protection
Anodic protection impresses anodic current on
the structure to be protected (opposite to the
cathodic protection). It is appropriate for metals
that exhibit passivity (e.g., stainless steel) and
suitably small passive current over a wide range
of potentials. It is used in aggressive
environments, e.g., solutions of sulfuric acid.

galvanization

Cathodic protection

Bibliography :1. XII class Chemistry

NCERT Books
2. iCBSE.com
3.XII class Chemistry
Practical Book
4.Photos from Google
images.
5.More Information from
Wikipedia..