Minh Nguyen Ms Morgan AP Chemistry April 1, 2014 AP Chemistry Lab #18: Analysis of Hydrogen Peroxide 1) Introduction: Hydrogen peroxide

(H2O2) is considered as an environmentally friendly alternative to chlorine in terms of water purification and wastewater treatment. Because hydrogen peroxide readily decomposes in the presence of heat, light and catalysts, the quality of a hydrogen peroxide solution must be regularly checked to ensure its effectiveness. In order to measure the concentration of hydrogen peroxide, this experiment would focus on a oxidation-reduction titration between hydrogen peroxide and potassium permanganate (KMnO4) Oxidation - reduction reactions occur because of the transferred election from a substance to another. The balanced chemical reaction can be written as the combination of two half-reactions, representing the oxidation reaction and the reduction reaction. The number of electrons lost by the species being oxidised is always equal to the number of electrons gained by the species being reduced. Potassium permanganate (KMnO4) is a common oxidising agent as a titrant in redox titrations. The ion MnO4- is reduced in the following equation: 8H+ (aq) + MnO4- (aq) + 5e- Mn2+ (aq) + 4H2O (l) Potassium permanganate is not considered a primary standard for analytical purposes. Common impurities include chlorine in the form of chloride and chlorate ions, nitrogen compounds, and sulfur as sulfate. In order to accurately determine the concentration of MnO4-, it may be titrated against a solution containing a known concentration of Fe2+ ion. In this experiment, we will be using ferrous ammonium sulcate (Fe(NH4)2(SO4)2). The corresponding half-reaction is:

Fe2+ Fe3+ + eIn this experiment, the equivalence point occurs when the exact number of moles of MnO4ions has been added to react completely with all the Fe2+ ions in the solution. The indicator in this titration is the colour of MnO4- as it is purple in the solution. But as it is reduced, a colourless solution would result due to the presence of Mn2+ ions, which is almost colourless. At the endpoint of the titration, the solution changes from colourless to light pink as the last drop of MnO4- added does not react and keep its colour. With the concentration found in the first part of the experiment, we now titrate a solution of hydrogen peroxide with the same potassium permanganate solution we used in the first part. This time, the endpoint occurs when the pink colour of MnO4- ion persists. The half-reaction for this titration is: H2O2 (aq) O2 (g) + 2H+ (aq) +2e2) Equipment: a. Chemicals: Sulfuric acid solution, H2SO4, 0.3 M. Distilled water. b. Tools: Balance Beaker, 250 mL Eudiometer tube Burette stand Copper wire Copper strip Ammeter Stopwatch Connecting wires

3) Procedure:

- Add about 200 mL of diluted 0.3 M H2SO4 to a 250 mL beaker. - Fill a 50 mL eudiometer tube with H2SO4 up to the top and invert it into the solution and hold it
in place with a burette stand.

- Attach the copper wire cathode to the negative terminal of the DC source and place the other end
uninsulated into the inverted mouth of the eudiometer (Note: All the bare part of the wire must be inside the eudiometer).

- Clean and mass a copper strip and record its mass. - Attach a second wire to the copper strip and immerse the strip in the acid in the beaker. - The other end of the wire should be attached to the positive electrode of the DC source. - Attach an ammeter with a 0-3 A scale to the system. - Start the current and the stopwatch at the same time (Note: The current should be adjusted util the
ammeter reads between 0.60 A and 1.00 A).

- Read and record the height of H2 inside every one minute until the column reaches 40-mL mark. - Find the vapour pressure of water from a reference source.
4) Data table:

Current (amp) Time (s) Mass of Copper anode lost (g) Barometric pressure (mmHg) Temperature of the air and the solution ( C) Volume of the hydrogen gas (mL) Height difference of the solution levels (mm)
o

0.6 270s 0.0512 740.0 20.0 30.5 200

Density of the solution (g/mL) Mercury equivalent of the height difference (mmHg) Adjusted total pressure (barometric - mercury equivalent) (mmHg) Vapor pressure of water (mmHg) Partial pressure of hydrogen (mmHg) Mass of hydrogen produced (g)

1.05 15.6

724.4

17.5 706.9

0.00236 68644.1

Experimental value of the faraday based on the hydrogen (C/mol e ) Experimental value of the faraday based on the copper (C/mol e )
-

100621.1

a.

5) Analysis: b. Balanced equation: Cu (s) + 2H2O (g) 2H2 (g) + O2 (g) + Cu2+ (aq) c. Calculation of Mercury equivalent of the height difference: Mercury density = 13.5 g/mL Mercury height difference = Solution height difference level Solution density Mercury density = 200mm 1.05 g/mL 13.5 g/mL = 15.6 mmHg d. Calculation of the adjusted total pressure: Adjusted total pressure = Barometric pressure Mercury height difference = 740.0 mmHg 15.6 mmHg = 724.4 mmHg d. Calculation of the pressure of hydrogen gas: Pressure of hydrogen gas = Adjusted total pressure Vapor pressure of water

= 724.4 mmHg 17.5 mmHg = 706.9 mmHg = 706.9 torr e. Calculation of the mass of hydrogen produced: P V = n R T nH2 = PH2 VH2 (R Tsolution) = 706.9 torr 30.5 mL (1 L 1000mL) (62.36 LTorr/molK 293 K) = 0.00118 mol mH2 = nH2 MMH2 = 0.00118 mol 2 g/mol = 0.00236 g f. Calculation of Faradays constant (based on the hydrogen): C = A t = 0.6 A 270s = 162 C Number of mol e- = 0.00118 mol H2 2 mol e- 1 mol H2 = 0.00236 mol eFaradays constant = 162 C 0.00236 mol e- = 68644.1 C/mol eg. Calculation of Faradays constant (based on the copper): nCu = 0.0512 g 63.55 g/mol = 8.05 10-4 mol Number of mol e- = 8.05 10-4 mol Cu 2 mol e- 1 mol Cu = 1.61 10-3 mol eFaradays constant = 162 C (1.61 10-3 mol e-) = 100621.1 C/mol e5) Conclusion: The purpose of this lab is to determine the percent composition of a common drug store bottle of hydrogen peroxide through its titration with potassium permanganate. The lab begins with an introductory activity to standardise a solution of potassium permanganate by redox titration against a primary standard, ferrous ammonium sulfate. This standardisation procedure provides a model for guide inquiry design of an experiment to determine the percent hydrogen peroxide in a sample. Additional products containing hydrogen peroxide may be analysed as part of optional extension activities. Percent error = (Percent H2O2 theory - Percent H2O2 experiment) Percent H2O2 theory 100% = (3.00 % - 3.165%) (3.00 %) 100% = -5.5 %

The percent error of this experiment seems to be quite small (5.5%). It could have been resulted from these possible sources of errors: - The endpoint might have been overshot as the pink colour in each trial was different in terms of intensity. - The drops on the wall of the flask might have affected the result. - The readings from the scale were not entirely accurate. - The ferrous ammonium sulfate was not entirely transferred to the flask. - The readings from the burette were not entirely accurate. - Some calculations are rounded up to the nearest thousandth/hundredth. - There were an empty space in the bottom end of the burette, which could affect the readings of the volume used. - The amount of H2O2 used might not be accurately measured.