Zaynah Kmeid

Emily Wilson
Trevor Jones
Electrochemical Cell Project Proposal
Goals
1. The first goal of the investigation is to develop trends based on varying
concentrations of Zinc Nitrate and Copper Nitrate. This is necessary to identify the
optimum concentrations of Zinc and Copper Nitrate for the formation of an
electrochemical cell.
2. The second goal of the investigation is to develop an electrochemical cell that is
optimized for cell potential based on the identified trends. This is done in order to
prove that the chosen chemicals and methods can in fact result in a working
electrochemical cell.
Procedures
Table 1: Amount of reagents required to create a dilution set using Zinc
Nitrate
Concentration of the
Solution (M)

Volume of Stock (1.5

M)/ mL

Volume of Diluent (mL)

0.750

0.750

0.750

1.00

1.00

0.500

1.25

1.25

0.250

Table 2: Amount of reagents required to create a dilution set using Copper

Nitrate
Concentration of the
Solution (M)

Volume of Stock
(1.5M)/ mL

Volume of Diluent (mL)

0.750

0.750

0.750

1.00

1.00

0.500

Part 1: Identifying trends with varying concentrations of copper nitrate

and zinc nitrate
1. Create 1.5 M dilutions of zinc nitrate (4.22g) and copper nitrate (4.26g)
using 15 mL of water as a solvent.

2. Once the two stock solutions are created, insert X amount of Zinc
Nitrate into one well and X amount of Copper Nitrate into another well using
a micropipette (see tables 1 and 2).
3. The appropriate amounts of stock solution and water must be added to
create the following concentrations (see tables 1 and 2)(0.75 M Zinc Nitrate
and 0.75 M Copper Nitrate); (0.75 Zinc Nitrate M and 1 M Copper nitrate); (1M
Zinc nitrate and 0.75M Copper nitrate); (1M Zinc Nitrate and 1M Copper
nitrate); (1.25 M Zinc nitrate and 0.75 M Copper nitrate); (1.25 M zinc Nitrate
nitrate and 1 M copper nitrate ).
4. Next, create a 10 mL 1 M solution composed of Potassium nitrate (1.01
g) and 10 mL of water.
5. Once solution is created, measure out 6 separate 2.5 -3.0 cm strands
of cotton thread.
6. Place the cotton thread strands into the beaker of potassium nitrate
solution and allow strands to soak for 1 minute; these are the salt bridges.
7. After the salt bridges are created, insert one end of the salt bridge into
the Zinc nitrate solution and the other end into the Copper nitrate solution.
Do this for all of the remaining dilution sets.
8. Afterwards, the electrodes have to be set up.
9. The zinc wire is the cathode, and is therefore attached to the red probe
using alligator clips.
10.Similarly, the copper wire is attached to the black probe because it is
the anode.
11.These red and black probes have wires that run through a digital multimeter which is used to record the current.
12.The cathode (zinc wire), which is attached to the red probe is placed
into the solution of zinc nitrate, whereas the anode (copper wire), which is
attached to the black probe, is placed into the solution of copper nitrate.
13.This specific set-up has to be precise because the electrons flow from
the cathode to the anode, through the digital multi-meter, which records the
current.
14.This set-up is then repeated for all of the different solution sets.

Part 2: Developing an Electrochemical Cell using the most ideal

concentrations of zinc and copper nitrate
1. After the data has been analyzed and a concentration set has been
chosen based on optimized cell potential, create two solutions (one with zinc
nitrate and one with copper nitrate) using the equation (M= moles of solute/
15 mL of water). Each solution will be in its own 50 mL beaker.
2. After the two solutions have been created, cut out a rectangle from the
filter paper with the dimensions 2.0 cm x 8.0 cm.
3. Next, create a solution of 10 mL 1M potassium nitrate (1.01g) and
water (10 mL).
4. Place filter paper into solution and allow to soak for 1 minute; this is
the salt bridge.

5. Insert one end of the salt bridge into the zinc nitrate solution and the
other end into the copper nitrate solution.
6. Once the salt bridge has been inserted, set up the electrodes.
7. The zinc wire is the cathode and the copper wire is the anode.
8. In order to determine the appropriate resistor, use the equation ( =
/ )
(Where V Energycell is the voltage produced by the energy cell, VLED is the
voltage the LED is rated for, and i is the current (amp)).
9. Next, attach the resistor, LED, and red probe (must be in that order)
between the cathode wire and the DMM. The set-up for the anode is exactly
like the previous experiment.
10.Insert the anode into the copper nitrate solution and the cathode into
the zinc nitrate solution.
11.Record the current shown by the DMM and ensure the bulb is working
properly.

Rationale
Looking at the ionic equations for zinc and copper, it can be observed that
the zinc reaction is classified as oxidation since electrons are lost; the copper
reaction is classified as reduction since electrons are gained. Since the amount of
energy released from the oxidation reaction exceeds the amount of energy
consumed by the reduction reaction, an electron current is produced. Using this
information, zinc nitrate and copper nitrate were chosen for the solutions. Water
was chosen as the solvent for the solution, because both reagents are soluble in
water. In order to prevent uncontrolled movement of the metal ions, potassium
nitrate was chosen for the construction of the salt bridge. The potassium nitrate in
the salt bridge allows for the regulation of the negative ions from the left cell to the
right cell. The copper and zinc wires were chosen, because the metals present in
the electrodes must be also present in the solution that the electrode is placed in; if
the metal present in the wires did not match, the oxidation and reduction reactions
would not occur. The resistor for the battery was chosen based on the equation ( =
/ ) where V Energycell is the voltage produced by the energy
cell, VLED is the voltage the LED is rated for, and i is the current measured in
amperes.
In order to create identifiable trends, 3 different concentrations of zinc nitrate
were created in 0.25mL intervals; where 1 M is the median value. 2 different
concentrations of copper nitrate were created in 0.25 intervals in order to create a
general trend. 1 M was chosen as the central value, because it is a safe
concentration to begin with; it is not too strong or too weak. 1M was chosen as the
concentration for the salt bridge, because 1 M was the central value in the zinc
nitrate dilution set; this allows for equal effectiveness in both extremes. In order to
prevent contamination of other cells during the testing process, the final volume of
each dilution was chosen to be 1.5 mL; this accommodates the displacement that
may occur from inserting the probes into each cell. 15 mL of stock solution was
created for both zinc nitrate and copper nitrate to ensure minimal waste production

and to allow room for error. Dimensions for the filter paper were chosen based on
the dimensions of the 50 mL beaker; a salt bridge that is too large or too small
would be ineffective in regulating the transfer of the metal ions from cell to cell.
During the creation of the stock solutions, stirring was incorporated in order to mix
the metal ions into the water. Stirring adds kinetic energy into the system, which
allows for the dissociation of the metal ions.
In the first part of the experiment, several concentrations are taken in order
to determine the optimum one, therefore all of the different set-ups must be
assembled similarly. In all cases, the zinc nitrate and copper nitrate solutions are
made first because they are a necessary first step in the process of setting up the
cell. After they are made, the solution of potassium nitrate for the salt bridge is
made, and then the salt bridge is formed. This is done because the salt bridge must
have each of its ends in one of the solutions (copper and zinc nitrate) before the
electrodes are put into the solutions. This is necessary because the salt bridge plays
an important role in regulating ion flow, so it should be present before the reaction
starts. Therefore, after the salt bridge is added to the set-up, the electrodes are
arranged and the DMM is turned on. The electrodes are simultaneously put into
their respective solutions so that the reactions begin at the same time, and the
current from electrons passing between the electrodes can be recorded. Similarly, in
the second part of the experiment, the set-up is arranged in the same order, where
the solutions are made then the salt bridge, followed by the electrode arrangement.
However in this part of the experiment care must be taken in the order of the
cathode, resistor, LED, red probe and DNM. They must be arranged in that exact
order, known as a series connection, opposed to a parallel connection where the
LED is between the red probe and the black probe, opposed to it being between the
resistor and the red probe. This would result in the LED not functioning properly so
the set-up must be exactly in the order mentioned in the procedure.
Safety
-Wear a labcoat and goggles to prevent contact with hazardous materials.
-Wear nitrile gloves to avoid getting chemicals on hands and electrocution.
-Dispose of all waste materials in the appropriate bins.
- Close the containers after using them, and leave them where they belong (dont
remove them from their locations).
- Do not misuse digital multi-meter, LED, and resistor in order to avoid accidents.

Resources

Potassium nitrate (approximately 2.0 g)

Nano pure water (200 mL)
Zinc nitrate (approximately 8.0 g)
Copper nitrate (approximately 8.0 g)
24-well polystyrene plate with cover (1)

Copper 20AWG insulated red wire (cathode)

Zinc wire 0.078 inches (anode)
Digital multi-meter (1)
Black and red probes
Cotton thread
Scissors
Ruler
Non- insulated alligator clips
Coffee filter (1)
LED with closest expected voltage (1)
Resistor (1)
Glass stirring rod (1)
4 Beakers (50 ml)
Micropipette (1000 microliter)

References
1. "Electrochemical Cells." Electrochemical Science and Technology Fundamentals and
Applications (2011): 55-70. Web.
2. Electrochemical Cells: A Discovery Exercise. Experiment 7.
3. Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 29 Mar. 2016.
4. "Electrochemical Cells." Electrochemical Cells. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Mar. 2016.

Table 3: Physical Constants Used

Substance

Solubility

Density
(g/cm^3)

Molar mass
(g/mol)

Potassium
Nitrate

Moderately soluble

2.11

101

Zinc Nitrate

Moderately soluble

2.06

189

Copper Nitrate

Very soluble

3.05

188