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, Mapa 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, Faradays 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).

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

electrochemical cell), two platinum electrodes are
used. These are immersed into the solution and a
current is made to flow through them. This causes the
cation (Cu2+ in this case) to be attracted towards the
cathode (the electrode connected to the negative
terminal of the source). The cation will now receive
electrons from the 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, SO 42-, will give up two
of their electrons and become SO 4 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 neutral state. This

During the whole electrolysis process, copper is

deposited on cathode and same amount of copper is
removed from the anode. Basically, the principle of
electrolysis states that the cations in the cathode
receive electrons from negative cathode while anions
provide these electrons to the cathode. Figure 1 on
the next page shows this basic principle of electrolysis.

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

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CHM171L Physical Chemistry 2 Laboratory

4th Quarter SY 2014-2015

The experiments objectives are the following: (1) to

determine the effect of current on electrolytic reactions
at a given time, (2) to determine the Faradays
constant, and (3) to be familiarized with the electrolytic
analyzer equipment.
METHODOLOGY

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, Faradays
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 Avogadros number (6.022x10 23 mol-1). Due
to this equation, the recently accepted value for F is
96485.3399 C/mol. According to Faradays 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

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 CuSO 4
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

Table 1. Weight of Copper deposited on Platinum

electrodes

Trial 1 (Left side)

mo of Pt mf of Pt
(g)
(g)

Ru
n

Current
(A)

A
B
C

4.2
4.4
4.6

m Cu
deposited
(g)
0.151
0.164
0.167

4.2
4.1
4.2

m Cu
deposited
(g)
0.152
0149
0.153

Ru
n
A
B
C

38.461 38.612
38.612 38.776
38.776 38.943
Trial 2 (Right side)
Current mo of Pt mf of Pt
(A)
(g)
(g)
38.268
38.420
38.569

38.420
38.569
38.722

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.
This could mean that, the greater the current, the
greater the rate of reaction.
Since the amount of Copper deposited is equal to
twice the amount of electrons transferred according to
the half-cell reaction for Cu 2+, the mole of electrons
was computed for using the following equation.
ne =mCu

1 mol Cu
MW Cu

mol e
() 12mol
Cu )

Q It
=
ne ne

(Eqn. 3)

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 Faraday constant 96,500 C/mol,
our results had a percent error of about 4%.
CONCLUSION

It can be concluded, based on the results, that the

electrical energy supplied (in the form of the current) is
directly proportional to the rate of reaction.
Furthermore, the Faraday constant was experimentally
determined with the use of the electrolytic analyzer
equipment using the mass of the copper deposited as
basis. However, the calculated value of 104,309.3209
C/mol had approximately 4% error when compared
with the true value of 96,500 C/mol. And finally, we
were able to familiarize ourselves with the main
equipment in use which was the electrolytic analyzer,
its parts, and how to operate it.
REFERENCES

(Eqn. 2)

Upon obtaining ne per run, we were finally able to

compute for the Faraday constant using the following
equation.

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

F=

Atkins. (2010). Physical Chemistry.

Levin, I. (n.d.). Physical Chemistry 6th Ed.

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