Question

How can you electroplate an iron nail with copper? Explain with the help of a diagram.

Accepted Answer

Electroplating is the process of depositing the desired metal on the other metal by passing an electric current through a solution called an electrolyte. In electroplating, first of all, two electrodes are connected to a battery and inserted into an electrolytic liquid. Among the two electrodes, the metal to be electroplated is made as the cathode while the metal which has to be deposited on this metal is taken as the anode.
To electroplate an iron nail with copper we need a glass beaker, a thick copper wire, an iron nail, a battery cell, a solution of copper sulphate, connecting wires and a switch. Fill around three-fourths of the beaker with the copper sulphate solution. Hammer, the copper wire to flatten it out and connect it to the positive terminal of the battery. Connect the nail through a switch to the negative terminal of the battery. Dip both of them in the copper sulphate solution, making sure that they do not touch each other. Put on the switch and let the current pass through the solution for about half an hour. When copper sulphate is dissolved in water, it forms positively-charged copper ions and negatively-charged sulphate ions. When an electric current is passed through the solution: The copper ions (cations) move towards the cathode, pick up electrons from there (supplied by the electric current), and get deposited on it as copper atoms. At the anode, the copper atoms in the copper plate lose electrons to form copper ions. The ions go into the solution. Thus, the copper lost to the cathode is restored by the anode. Therefore, the anode slowly dissolves into the solution, while a layer of copper gets deposited on the cathode. The sulphate ions do not take part in the chemical reaction. Thus, the net effect is that copper gets transferred from the anode to the cathode. This method can be used to deposit a layer of any metal on another material. The above arrangement consisting of an electrolyte, two electrodes (anode and cathode) and a source of current is called an electrolytic cell. The electrolytic cell converts electrical energy to chemical energy.

A C Sehgal Solutions for Exercise 1: ANNUAL TEST PAPER for Chapters 11-19

A C Sehgal Science Solutions for Exercise - A C Sehgal Solutions for Exercise 1: ANNUAL TEST PAPER for Chapters 11-19

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