CHM171L Physical Chemistry Laboratory

nd
2 Quarter SY 2015-2016

Electrochemistry: Determination of Faraday’s Constant

Fowler, Peter Matthew T, Fumera, Joenel O1, Gonzales, Juliene1

1 Student, CHM171L/A11, School of Chemical Engineering, Chemistry and Biotechnology, Mapúa Institute of Technology

ABSTRACT

An electrochemical cell contains electrodes in which a non-spontaneous reaction is being driven by

means of an external source of current. The two electrodes are the cathode, where reduction occurs,
and anode, where oxidation occurs. In this experiment, Faraday’s constant was determined through
the process of electrolysis. The two electrodes were submerged in the copper sulfate solution and
electrolysis was done in two minutes by means of electrolytic analyzer, specifically Electro – Analyzer
2000 which supplies current. After the set time, the electrodes were dried and weighed for which the
change in mass of the electrodes which serves as the mass of the copper deposited is needed for the
determination of the Faraday’s constant. Since the value must be constant, it was observed that the
electric charge has a direct proportionality to the mass deposited. It was noticed that the experimental
value of the Faraday’s constant deviated from the literature value and some causes of error may be
due to the oxidized electrodes, impurities on the copper sulfate solution or the current supplied by the
equipment used.

Keywords: electrochemical cell, Faraday’s constant, anode, cathode, electrolysis

1. Introduction is directly proportional to the electricity that passes through

An electrochemical cell is composed of two
electrodes in contact with an ionic conductor which may be
a solution, a liquid or a solid. One type of an
electrochemical cell is an electrolytic cell in which a non –
spontaneous reaction is being driven through an external
source of current (Atkins & de Paula, 2014).
By the use of the current, electrons can be drawn
away from a chemical that is reluctant to lose them (be
oxidized), and forced electrons to gain them (be reduced).
This process is called electrolysis. Electrolysis is being
used to force a non – spontaneous oxidation – reduction
reaction to occur (Schullery, Rittenhouse, & Nord, 2015).
the cell (Bodner, 2004).
When current is passed through the copper sulfate
solution, the following reaction occurs at the electrodes. The
copper anode undergoes oxidation where each copper
atom loses two electrons to become copper ions going into
the solution.
(1)
While another copper electrode undergoes
reduction where positively charged copper ions migrate to
the cathode. Each gains two electrons to become copper
atoms and are being deposited.

In this experiment, electrolysis of copper will be (2)

performed to determine the Faraday’s constant. Copper
sulfate solution will be undergoing electrolysis and this will
be made possible through the use of the electrolytic
analyzer equipment. Faraday’s first law of electrolysis can
be stated as follows: The amount of a substance produced
or consumed at one of the electrodes in an electrolytic cell
For this experiment, the change in mass of the
electrodes represents the amount of copper deposited.
Using the electrolytic analyzer, the amount of current that
can pass through may be varied in each trial. The following
equation shows how the electric charge will be calculated.

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 CHM171L Physical Chemistry
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(3) electrodes is only submerged in the solution. Table 2.1

shows the level of submersion of the electrodes in the
Where q is the electric charge in Coulombs, I is solution. Concentrated nitric acid in a beaker is to be also
the current in Amperes and t is the total running time of the prepared and set aside since it will be used for cleaning
equipment in each trial in seconds. purposes at the end of the experiment.

By applying the definition of the Faraday’s Law of

electrolysis, the Faraday’s constant, F, is can be calculated. Portion of the
Faraday’s second law of electrolysis states that the same Trial electrodes Current
quantity of electricity will dissolve or produce chemically submerged
equivalent amount of all substances (Jensen, 2012). This 1 Half 4A
constant is known as the Faraday’s constant and can be 2 Three – fourths 5A
obtained using the following equation: 3 Full 5.5 A
Table 2.1. Level of submersion and set current
(4)

Where q is the electric charge in Coulombs, M is b. Property Measurement

the molar mass in g/mol, n is the number of electrons in the
Afterwards, the equipment was turned on and the
half – reaction and m is the change in mass of the
timer was started simultaneously. After two minutes, it was
electrodes.
then turned off and the electrodes with the deposits of
copper were oven – dried. The current control knob was
By looking at the arrived equation, the amount of
immediately set at 4 Amperes as the timer starts. After
the substance produced or consumed in an electrolysis
drying, the electrodes were reweighed and used for the
process is dependent on the time, electric current and the
succeeding trials. Table 2.1 shows the respective set
number of electrons required to produce or consume one
currents in every trial.
mole of the substance.

Through the experiment, the effect of electrolytic

reactions at a given time will be observed and the ways on
how to use the electrolytic analyzer will be familiarized.
Moreover, the main purpose of the experiment is to Power
determine the value of the Faraday’s constant by means of Switch
the gathered data.
Stirrer
Switch
2. Experimental
Polarity
a. Instrument and Sample Preparations reversing
switch
In this experiment, the Faraday’s constant will be Electrode
able to determine through electrolysis. An equipment known holders
as the electrolytic analyzer will be utilized for which it is
composed of an electrode holder where electrodes are
plugged, and a current control knob for setting current.
Figure 2.1 shows a picture of the analyzer.
Current
To start, the two electrodes are to be weighed and control
two beakers with copper sulfate solution are prepared. The
beaker, and the weighed electrodes were placed into their
proper positions. In the first trial, half of the length of the Figure 2.1. Image of the electrolytic
analyzer equipment

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c. Treatment of Results
The amount of the copper deposits was recorded
and thus the average Faraday’s constant for all the runs
was then computed by applying the principle of Faraday’s
Law of Electrolysis.
3. Results and Discussion
The SO42- and OH- ions were then attracted into
the anode while the cathode attracted the Cu2+ and H+ ions.
At the cathode, the Cu2+ ions got neutralized by the
incoming electrons from the external circuit and the copper
metal (Cu) gets deposited at the cathode.
(Reduction)

Along with the determination of the Faraday’s

constant, this experiment was conducted to determine the
effect of current on electrolytic reactions at a given time. In
this experiment, the electrolysis of a copper sulfate solution
using platinum electrodes as cathodes was carried out.

The phenomenon of decomposition of an

electrolyte by passing electric current through its solution is
termed electrolysis. The process of electrolysis is carried in
an apparatus called the electrolytic cell (Iqbal & Mido,
2005). In an electrolytic cell, a flow of current produces a
chemical reaction; electrical energy from an external source
is converted into chemical energy (Levine, 2009). The
equipment used in this experimentation is the Eberbach
Electro-Analyzer 1000 in which the current to be supplied Figure 3.1. Formation of Copper metal (Cu) at the cathode
can vary from 0-10 Amperes.

Two trials were performed simultaneously: the left
side electrolytic cell as the first trial, and the right side as
the second trial. For each trial, 3 runs were performed
starting with a current of 4 Amperes up to 6 Amperes and
the execution time was constant at 2 minutes.
The components of an electrolytic cell are two
electrodes and an electrolyte. The two electrodes are
classified as cathode (positive electrode) and anode
(negative electrode). The former was connected to the
negative terminal of the emf source while the latter was
connected to the positive terminal. In this experiment, the
cathodes are made up of platinum while the anodes are
made up of copper.
The two platinum electrodes were dipped into the
electrolyte used which was the copper sulfate (CuSO4)
solution. As current passed through the solution, the
electrolyte dissociates into Cu2+ ions (cation) and SO42- ions
(anion) while water dissociates into H+ ions and OH- ions
which then move freely in the liquid mixture.
At the anode, neither SO42- nor OH- ions are
discharged so oxygen was not evolved and bubbles were
not formed. Instead, the copper anode was dissolved in the
solution and produced electron.
(Oxidation)
The SO42- ions then reacted with Cu2+ ions to form
Copper Sulfate (CuSO4). Due to the formation of copper
sulfate, the concentration of the electrolyte remains the
same.
It was evident that the flow of current produced a
chemical reaction as it continuously provides electrons for
the reaction to proceed. The chemical reaction that took
place is known as the oxidation-reduction reaction or redox
reaction. Reduction takes place at the cathode while
oxidation occurs at the anode.
As illustrated in Table 3.1, the amount of copper
deposited at the cathode was determined by subtracting the
masses of the platinum electrode before and after the

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process was done. As can be noticed, the mass of the Since the molar mass of copper and its valence
deposited copper is greatest when three-fourths of the number, as well as the time of execution of hydrolysis are
electrodes were submerged into the electrolyte. constant, the experimental value for Faraday’s constant
therefore depends only on two quantities: the current
Trial 1 (Left Side) supplied on the solution and the mass of the copper
Time, Initial Final Weight deposited at the cathode.
Run Current Weight Weight
s of Pt (g) of Pt (g) of Cu (g) The average of the six experimental Faraday’s
constants above was acquired and the value obtained was
A 4A 120 s 38.384 38.552 0.168 157,898.15 C mol-1, which has a large deviation from its
B 5A 120 s 38.552 38.794 0.242 literature value. Equation 4 shows that current (I) is directly
C 5.5 A 120 s 38.794 38.992 0.198 proportional on F, whereas the mass of the deposited
Trial 2 (Right Side) copper (m) is inversely proportional to it. It was mentioned
earlier that the mass of copper for both trials were greatest
A 4A 120 s 38.271 38.436 0.165
at run B however since it is inversely proportional to
B 5A 120 s 38.436 38.746 0.310 Faraday’s constant, they both obtain the least values.
C 5.5 A 120 s 38.746 38.791 0.045 However, as stated, in reality the Faraday’s constant is
Table 3.1. Mass of copper deposited in grams unchangeable that’s why looking in another perspective,
there will be a linear relationship between the electric
Faraday’s Second Law of Electrolysis states that, charge, product of current and time, and mass of the copper
“For a given quantity of D.C electricity (electric charge), the deposited.
mass of an elemental material altered at an electrode is
directly proportional to the element’s equivalent weight”. As can be observed, the error was that significant
The equivalent weight of an element is equal to its molar and this might be caused by the oxidized electrodes, the
mass divided by its valence number. Faraday’s constant, F, impurities on the copper sulfate solution, or the fluctuating
is the absolute value of the charge per mole of electrons current supplied by the equipment used. Though this
and has a value of 96, 485 C mol-1.
happened, the objectives of the experiment were met which
were to become familiar with the use of the equipment,
Faraday’s constant is therefore a function of time, determine the Faraday’s constant and know the effects in
current, amount of the substance deposited and the change the reaction at a given time.
in oxidation state it undergoes upon electrolysis.

Trial Run Faraday’s Constant 4. Conclusion

A 90,780
1 B 78,776.03
C 115,538.18
A 92,430.55
2 B 61,496.13
C 508,368
AVERAGE 157,898.15
Table 3.2. Determination of Faraday’s Constant
The table above shows the quantity of the
Faraday’s constant for each trial which were evaluated
using the values obtained from Table 3.1.
In this experiment, the value of the Faraday’s
constant was determined by means of Eberbach Electro-
Analyzer 1000. This equipment supplies electric current that
can perform electrolysis. Electrolysis is the process of
splitting up substances by passing electric current through
them. In addition, the variables that affect in determining
this constant were also observed. The data gathered used
in computing the average value of the Faraday’s constant
were the molar mass of copper, current supplied, execution
time which was held constant at two minutes and the
change in mass of the electrodes before and after each
trial.
Electrolysis of copper was performed to determine
the Faraday’s constant. The electric current enters and
leaves the electrolyte through electrodes. In this case,
copper anode undergoes oxidation, losing two electrons to

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become copper ions, and another copper electrode Jensen, W. B. (2012). McMicken College of Arts and
undergoes reduction gaining two electrons in the process. Sciences. Retrieved from Faraday's Law or
Faraday's Laws?: http://www.che.uc.edu/jensen/W.
There were six trials performed and the average of %20B.%20Jense n/Reprints/189.%20Faraday
the obtained constants was calculated and recorded. It was %27s%20Law.pdf
noticed that the value attained has a large deviation from
the literature value. Though the error was observable, the Levine (2009) Physical Chemistry (6th ed.). New York:
objectives of this experiment were still achieved. McGraw-Hill.

Reis, A. (2014). Electrolysis of Copper Sulphate. Retrieved

5. References from
http://www.thechemicalblog.co.uk/electrolysis-of-
Atkins, P., & de Paula, J. (2014). Atkins' Physical Chemistry . copper-sulphate/
Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press
. Schullery, S., Rittenhouse, R., & Nord, R. (2015). Eastern
Bodner. (2004). College of Science Chemical Education Michigan University. Retrieved from Electrolysis:
Division Groups. Retrieved from Electrolytic Cells: https://www.emich.edu/chemistry/genchemlab/doc
http://chemed.chem.purdue.edu/genchem/topicrevi uments/4-electrol.pdf
ew/bp/ch20/faraday.php

Iqbal, S.A., & Mido, Y. (2005) Physical Chemistry. New

Delhi, India: Discovery Publishing House.

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APPENDIX

Considering 1st Run of Trial 1

Molar mass of Copper (Cu) = 63.546 g mole-1

Current, I: 4 Amperes

Time, t: 120 seconds

Initial Mass of Platinum (Pt) Electrode: 38.384 grams

Final Mass of Pt: 38.552 grams

Faraday’s Constant

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