Pre-Laboratory Activity

Chemical Activity and Corrosion of Metals

 

1. Write the reduction half-cell reaction and their corresponding

standard reduction potentials (Eo) in aqueous solution at 25oC, for each
of the following metals.

  Metal Reduction half-cell reaction Standard reduction potential (Eo)

a Copper Cu2++2e- Cu
+0.52

b Iron Fe2++2e- Fe
-0.44

c Magnesium Mg2++2e- Mg
-2.37

d Tin Sn2++ 2e- Sn

-0.14

e Zinc Zn2++2e- Zn
-0.76

2. Define the following terms:

o Galvanic corrosion
- Galvanic corrosion (also known as 'dissimilar metal
corrosion' or incorrectly 'electrolysis') refers to corrosion
damage caused by the combination of two dissimilar
 materials in a corrosive electrolyte. It happens when
under water two (or more) dissimilar metals are brought
into electrical contact.

o Stress corrosion
- Another type of corrosion that is important for many fields,
including civil structures, is stress corrosion. Stress-
corrosion occurs when in a relatively inert environment a
substance remains but corrodes due to an applied strain
or stress. The stress might be added or residual
externally.
-
o Pitting corrosion
- Pitting corrosion is a type of localized corrosion creating
spot- or pit-shaped attacks. In stainless steel, pitting
corrosion can occur in neutral or acid solutions containing
halides *, mainly chlorides (Cl-), such as seawater.

   3. Briefly describe how each of the following can prevent corrosion of
metals.

o
 Impervious coating
o Adding coatings to metals helps prevent corrosion. This helps
by preventing acids, moisture and more from penetrating the
metal, helping remove one of the essentials needed for
corrosion to occur.
 Coating with a less active metal
o This is a technique in preventing corrosion of a metal by making
the metal a cathode by means of an impressed current or
attachment to a sacrificial anode.
 Coating with a more active metal
o The metal to be covered is bathed in a particular material, and
the electrochemical conditions are changed so that uniform
pores in the oxide layer of the metal appear several
nanometers wide. These pores cause an oxide film to build up,
thicker than a passivation layer. The protective layer resulting
from this is very hard and very robust.
  Using a sacrificial anode
o This helps by using a more reactive metal to protect the other
metal from corroding. An example of this is using Zinc to protect
the iron halls of ships from rusting due to the seawater.

4. Define the following terms and give examples of each:


o Oxidation-reduction reaction

- An oxidation-reduction ( redox) reaction is a kind of

chemical reaction involving the transition between two
species of electrons. An oxidation-reduction reaction is
any chemical reaction in which, by obtaining or losing an
electron, the oxidation number of a molecule, atom, or ion
change. Example of this reaction is decomposition.

o Single replacement reaction

- Single replacement reaction is a reaction in which one

element in a compound is replaced by another element.
The starting materials are often pure elements, such as
pure zinc or hydrogen gas, plus an aqueous compound.
Example of this are Metals in Aqueous solutions like If
you place a copper wire in the aqueous solution of silver
nitrate, you will end up with silver metal crystals and
copper nitrate solution.

o Galvanic cell

- Galvanic cell is an electrochemical cell type. It is used to

supply electrical current via a redox reaction to make
electrons pass. A galvanic cell is an exemplary idea of
how simple reactions between a few given elements can
be used to harness energy. Example of this are
automobile batteries which consists of six electrochemical
cells connected in series. The anode of each cell is lead,
while the cathode is lead dioxide.