CHAPTER 3

In this chapter, the results of the experiment are presented and thoroughly discussed in

accordance with the objectives of the study, which is to be able to execute proper calculations

and analysis of chemical corrosion reactions and methods to lower corrosion rate of metals.

The first part of the experiment involved the rusting of steel using the salt drop

techniques. Drops of a mixture of 20 ml of salt solution and 2 drops of phenolphthalein were

placed on four different metals, namely; plain steel, polymer coated steel, tin coated steel, and

zinc plated steel. For procedure 1, four drops of the mixture were mixed with three drops of

ferricyanide in one end of a piece of plain steel, and three drops of ferrocyanide was mixed on

the other end, then covered with a watch glass. The side with the ferricyanide turned dark green

with a blue tint in the middle, while the side with ferrocyanide had a pink color with a small blue

tint in the middle. The blue color of the side with ferricyanide indicates the presence of Iron (II)

or rust, while it indicates Iron (III) on the side with ferrocyanide (Birk 2020). The pink color

indicates the presence of OH, meaning a reduction of oxygen took place.

In procedure 2, a polymer coated steel was scratched on one end. Three drops of

ferricyanide and 4 drops of the salt solution were placed on two ends of the polymer coated steel,

one on the scratched area and the other is an unscratched area. The drops in the scratched area

turned from violet to dark green in color with thin thread-like pigments, while there were no

reactions to the unscratched area. Procedure 3 repeated the same steps as procedure two, but

instead of polymer coated steel, tin coated steel was used. On the scratched area, the salt solution

turned pink upon placement and turned orange when ferricyanide solution was placed, while

small sediments also formed. The unscratched are went through the same color changed but no

sediments were formed. Procedure 4 also repeated the steps in procedure 2 but galvanized steel
was used instead. The drops of salt solution and ferricyanide turned a tinge of purple, while the

unscratched end showed no reactions.

The second part of the experiment involves an improvised galvanic cell. The remaining

salt solution from the previous part was contain in a 100 mL beaker. A cork stopper with a

copper strip was used to cover the opening of the beaker, with one end of the copper strip

submerged in the salt solution. Another piece of metal was abrased on one end was then placed

on the beaker with the abrased end also submerged in the salt solution to complete a galvanic

cell. A voltmeter was used to measure the voltage, with one clip connected to the copper strip

and the other connected to the other metal strip. The following table shows the recorded voltage

for each metal paired with the copper strip.

Table 1: Measured Voltage vs. Copper Foil

YOUR OTHER OTHER STANDARD

METAL AVERAGE RANK
DATA DATA 1 DATA 2 DEVIATION
Zn 0.2 V 0.22V 0.2 V 0.2067 V 0.0094 V 3.5

Cu 0V 0V 0V 0V 0V 1

Mg 0.6 V 0.59 V 0.6 V 0.5967 V 0.0047 V 6

Al 0.12 V 0.18 V 0.12 V 0.1400 V 0.0283 V 2

Pb 0.4 V 0.03 V 0.3 V 0.2567 V 0.1563 V 5

Sn 0.16 V 0.28 V 0.18 V 0.2067 V 0.0525 V 3.5

Discussion

Part 1 of the experiment involved the rusting of steel using the salt drop techniques. The

salt and phenolphthalein solution placed on each metal served to hasten rusting on the metals and

detect the presence of OH. The salt solution acts as an electrolyte to hasten rusting in metals,
since electrons can move easier in it because it contains dissolved ions (Gillespie 2018).

Phenolphthalein on the other hand detects the presence of hydroxide ions as it turns pink on its

presence (Kozlowski 2020). Ferricyanide turns blue in presence of iron (II), while ferrocyanide

turns blue in presence of iron (III).

When these solutions are placed on the metals, the changes in color indicates that rusting

is happening. In the plain steel, both sides with ferrocyanide and ferricyanide showed reactions

since the solutions were in direct contact with the metal. Procedures 2 to 4 involved metals

coated with a certain material. It is consistent in each of these coated metals that only the

scratched ends showed reactions, while the unscratched ends showed no reactions since the

material covering the metal prevents the solution from reacting with the metal.

Table 1 showed the recorded voltage when six metals; zinc, copper, magnesium,

aluminum, lead, and tin; were paired with the copper strip in the galvanic cell. Since voltage only

exists when there is a flow of electrons, pairing copper with copper does not produce an electric

current, which is why it produced the lowest average voltage of 0 V. Copper is followed by

aluminum with 0.1400 V, then by zinc and tin with 0.2067 V, then by lead with 0.2567, with

magnesium having the highest average voltage of 0.5967 V.

https://chem.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Analytical_Chemistry/

Supplemental_Modules_(Analytical_Chemistry)/Qualitative_Analysis/

Characteristic_Reactions_of_Select_Metal_Ions/Characteristic_Reactions_of_Iron__(Fe

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https://sciencing.com/salt-water-rust-metals-5150093.html

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