AIM

To study the effect of metal

coupling on Rusting Of Iron.
 MATERIALS REQUIRED
• Two Pentri dishes
• Four Test Tubes
• Four Iron Nails
• Beakers
• Sand Paper
• Wire Gauge
• Gelatin
• Copper, Zinc And Magnesium Strips
• Potassium Ferricyanide
• Phenolpthalein
 THEORY
INTRODUCTION:-
• Rust is an iron oxide, usually red oxide formed by the
redox reaction of iron and oxygen in the presence of
water or air moisture. Several forms of rust are
distinguishable both visually and by spectroscopy, and
form under different circumstances. Rust consists of
hydrated iron (III) oxides Fe2O3·nH2O and iron (III) oxide
hydroxide (FeO(OH), Fe(OH)3).

• Given sufficient time, oxygen and water, any iron mass

will eventually convert entirely to rust and disintegrate.
Surface rust is flaky and friable, and provides no
protection to the underlying iron, unlike the formation of
patina on copper surfaces. Rusting is the common term
for corrosion of iron and its alloys, such as steel. Many
other metals undergo equivalent corrosion, but the
resulting oxides are not commonly called rust.

• Other forms of rust exist, like the result of reactions

between iron and chloride in an environment deprived of
oxygen – rebar used in underwater concrete pillars is an
example – which generates green rust.
MECHANISM OF RUSTING:-
The overall rusting involves the following steps:
(i) Oxidation occurs at the anodes of each electrochemical cell.
Therefore, at each anode neutral iron atoms are oxidised to
ferrous ions.
At anode:

Thus, the metal atoms in the lattice pass into the solution as ions,
leaving electrons on the metal itself. These electrons move towards
the cathode region through the metal.
(ii) At the cathodes of each cell, the electrons are taken up by
hydrogen ions (reduction takes place). The ions are obtained
either from water or from acidic
substances (e.g. in water

Or
At cathode:

The hydrogen atoms on the iron surface reduce dissolved oxygen.

Therefore, the overall reaction at cathode of different

electrochemical cells may be written as,
(iii) The overall redox reaction may be written by multiplying
reaction at anode by 2 and adding reaction at cathode to equalise
number of electrons lost and gained –

Oxidation half reaction:

Reduction half reaction:

Overall cell reaction:

The ferrous ions are oxidised further by atmospheric

oxygen to form rust.

It may be noted that salt water accelerates corrosion. This is mainly

due to the fact that salt water increases the electrical conduction of
electrolyte solution formed on the metal surface. Therefore, rusting
becomes more serious problem where salt water is present.
 PROCEDURE
1. First of all I cleaned the surface of iron
nails with the help of sand paper.

2. After that I binded zinc strip around one

nail, a clean copper wire around the second
and clean magnesium strip around the third
nail.

3. Then I put all these three and a fourth nail

in Petri dishes so that they are not in contact
with each other.

4. Then I filled the Petri dishes with hot

agar-agar solution in such a way that only
lower half of the nails are covered with the
liquids.

5. Kept the covered Petri dishes for one day.

6. The liquids set to a gel on cooling. Two
types of patches are observed around the
rusted nail, one is blue and the other pink.

7. Blue patch is due to the formation of

potassium Ferro-ferricyanide where pink
patch is due to the formation of hydroxyl
ions which turns colourless
phenolphthalein to pink.
 OBSERVATION TABLE

S.NO METAL PAIR COLOUR OF NAIL RUSTS

PATCH OR NOT

1 IRON- ZINC PINK NO

2 IRON- MAGNESIUM PINK NO

3 IRON- COPPER BLUE YES

 RESULT
It is clear from the observation that coupling of iron
with more electropositive metals such as zinc and
magnesium resists corrosion and rusting of iron.
Coupling of iron with less electropositive metals
such as copper increases rusting.
 REFERENCE

• NCERT Class 12th Chemistry Textbook

• Together with chemistry lab manual
• ABC Chemistry Lab Manual
• School Library