IChO 1978 · Theory problem 3

Chromium plating

Chromium plating is usually made by electrolysis in a solution of chromic acid. The chromium plated objects form the cathode. The anode is an alloy that is inert under given conditions, i. e. it does not react either chemically or electrochemically.

An electrolytic cell was filled with 100.0 dm\(^{3}\) of an aqueous solution which contained 0.230 kg of chromium acid anhydride in 1 dm\(^{3}\) of the solution.

In electrolysis a current of 1500 A passed through the electrolyte for 10.0 hours. After electrolysis an increase of the mass of the cathode was 0.679 kg.

The ratio of gas volumes

\[ \frac{V_{\mathrm C}}{V_{\mathrm A}}=1.603 \]

where \(V_{\mathrm C}\) is a volume of gases evolved at the cathode, whereas that marked as \(V_{\mathrm A}\) is the volume of gases which are evolved at the anode. Both volumes were measured at the same conditions.

Problems

3.1 What part of the total charge (in %) was used for a deposition of 0.679 kg of chromium?

3.2 Calculate:

a) the volume ratio of both gases (at STP) which are evolved as by-products at the cathode and anode,

b) current efficiency for the corresponding reactions taking place separately at the cathode and anode when the gases are evolved.

If you find any disproportion between the data calculated and those given in the task, try to explain what process would take place in the electrolytic cell which has not been considered till now.

Write the corresponding summary equation for the reactions at electrodes and correct your previous calculations if possible.

Official English text of the problem.

Answers

  • 3.1: The fraction of charge used to deposit chromium is \(14.0\%\).
  • 3.2(a): The gases are hydrogen at the cathode and oxygen at the anode. Considering only chromium deposition and gas evolution predicts \(V_{\mathrm C}/V_{\mathrm A}=1.720\). Including the closed chromium(VI)/chromium(III) cycle gives the measured ratio \(1.603\), with corrected STP volumes \[ \boxed{V_{\mathrm C}=3.55\times10^3\ \mathrm{dm^3},\qquad V_{\mathrm A}=2.21\times10^3\ \mathrm{dm^3}.} \]
  • 3.2(b): The initial gas current efficiencies are \(86.0\%\) for hydrogen and \(100\%\) for oxygen. The corrected efficiencies are \[ \boxed{\eta_{\ce{H2}}=56.5\%,\qquad \eta_{\ce{O2}}=70.5\%.} \] Chromium(VI) reduction to chromium(III) and its reverse oxidation consume \(29.5\%\) of the charge at each respective electrode.

Solution

Use \[ F=96485\ \mathrm{C\,mol^{-1}},\qquad M(\ce{Cr})=52.00\ \mathrm{g\,mol^{-1}}, \] and the ideal-gas molar volume \(V_m=22.414\ \mathrm{dm^3\,mol^{-1}}\) at STP, taken here as \(273.15\ \mathrm K\) and \(1\ \mathrm{atm}\).

The chemical species used below are:

Species Name SMILES
\(\ce{CrO3}\) Chromium(VI) oxide, chromic acid anhydride O=[Cr](=O)=O
\(\ce{H2CrO4}\) Chromic acid O=[Cr](=O)(O)O
\(\ce{Cr^{3+}}\) Chromium(III) ion [Cr+3]
\(\ce{H+}\) Hydrogen ion, proton [H+]
\(\ce{H2O}\) Water O
\(\ce{H2}\) Hydrogen [H][H]
\(\ce{O2}\) Oxygen O=O
\(\ce{Cr}\) Chromium [Cr]

The ion SMILES omit hydration, and [Cr] represents an atom rather than a metallic lattice. The oxide SMILES is a formal molecular representation; O=O does not specify oxygen’s triplet ground state. Dissolved chromium(VI) is represented formally as \(\ce{H2CrO4}\) in the balances below.

3.1 — Charge used for chromium deposition

Chromium starts in oxidation state \(+6\), so its net reduction to the metal requires six electrons per chromium atom:

\[ \ce{H2CrO4 + 6H+ + 6e- -> Cr + 4H2O}. \]

The total charge passed is

\[ Q=It =(1500\ \mathrm A)(10.0\times3600\ \mathrm s) =5.40\times10^7\ \mathrm C. \]

The amount of deposited chromium is

\[ n_{\ce{Cr}} =\frac{679\ \mathrm g}{52.00\ \mathrm{g\,mol^{-1}}} =13.0577\ \mathrm{mol}. \]

Consequently,

\[ Q_{\ce{Cr}} =6Fn_{\ce{Cr}} =7.559\times10^6\ \mathrm C, \]

and

\[ \boxed{ \eta_{\ce{Cr}} =\frac{Q_{\ce{Cr}}}{Q}\times100\% =14.0\%. } \]

This is the charge requirement for the overall reduction from chromium(VI) to chromium metal, regardless of intermediate reduction steps.

3.2(a) — Initial calculation of the gas-volume ratio

In the acidic electrolyte, hydrogen is evolved at the cathode:

\[ \ce{2H+ + 2e- -> H2}. \]

At the inert anode, water can be oxidized to oxygen:

\[ \ce{2H2O -> O2 + 4H+ + 4e-}. \]

Initially suppose that these gas-producing reactions and chromium deposition are the only electrode reactions. Then

\[ n_{\ce{H2}}^{(0)} =\frac{Q-Q_{\ce{Cr}}}{2F} =240.66\ \mathrm{mol}, \]

\[ n_{\ce{O2}}^{(0)} =\frac{Q}{4F} =139.92\ \mathrm{mol}. \]

At the same temperature and pressure, gas volumes are proportional to amounts. Therefore,

\[ \begin{aligned} \left(\frac{V_{\mathrm C}}{V_{\mathrm A}}\right)_0 &=\frac{(Q-Q_{\ce{Cr}})/(2F)}{Q/(4F)}\\ &=2\left(1-\frac{Q_{\ce{Cr}}}{Q}\right)\\ &=\boxed{1.720}. \end{aligned} \]

The corresponding initial STP volumes would be approximately \(5.39\times10^3\ \mathrm{dm^3}\) of hydrogen and \(3.14\times10^3\ \mathrm{dm^3}\) of oxygen. Their ratio differs from the measured \(1.603\).

3.2(b) — Initial current efficiencies

Under the same initial assumptions,

\[ \eta_{\ce{H2}}^{(0)} =\frac{Q-Q_{\ce{Cr}}}{Q}\times100\% =\boxed{86.0\%}, \]

\[ \eta_{\ce{O2}}^{(0)} =\frac{Q}{Q}\times100\% =\boxed{100\%}. \]

The discrepancy shows that this reaction model is incomplete.

3.2 — Additional electrode reactions and corrected calculation

Chromium(VI) can also be reduced to dissolved chromium(III), without depositing metal or evolving gas:

\[ \boxed{\ce{H2CrO4 + 6H+ + 3e- -> Cr^{3+} + 4H2O}} \qquad\text{(cathode)}. \]

The chromium(III) can then be reoxidized at the anode:

\[ \boxed{\ce{Cr^{3+} + 4H2O -> H2CrO4 + 6H+ + 3e-}} \qquad\text{(anode)}. \]

An inert anode can support this oxidation of a dissolved species while remaining chemically unchanged itself.

For a closed redox cycle, with no net accumulation of chromium(III), equal amounts of chromium undergo these opposite three-electron reactions. Thus the same charge \(Q_s\) is assigned to the cycle at each electrode.

Define the charge fractions

\[ d=\frac{Q_{\ce{Cr}}}{Q}=0.139986, \qquad s=\frac{Q_s}{Q}. \]

The separate electrode charge balances give

\[ \eta_{\ce{H2}}=1-d-s, \qquad \eta_{\ce{O2}}=1-s, \]

where efficiencies here are fractions rather than percentages. Since hydrogen requires two electrons per molecule and oxygen evolution supplies four,

\[ 1.603 =\frac{V_{\mathrm C}}{V_{\mathrm A}} =2\frac{1-d-s}{1-s}. \]

Rearranging,

\[ (2-1.603)(1-s)=2d, \]

so

\[ 1-s=\frac{2(0.139986)}{0.397}=0.705218, \qquad s=0.294782. \]

Therefore,

\[ \boxed{\eta_{\ce{O2}}=70.5\%}, \]

\[ \boxed{\eta_{\ce{H2}} =(1-0.139986-0.294782)\times100\% =56.5\%}. \]

The complete charge allocation is:

Electrode Net process Percentage of charge
Cathode Chromium(VI) to deposited chromium \(14.0\%\)
Cathode Chromium(VI) to chromium(III) in the cycle \(29.5\%\)
Cathode Hydrogen evolution \(56.5\%\)
Anode Chromium(III) to chromium(VI) in the cycle \(29.5\%\)
Anode Oxygen evolution \(70.5\%\)

Each electrode’s percentages sum to \(100\%\).

The corrected amounts of gas are

\[ n_{\ce{H2}} =\frac{\eta_{\ce{H2}}Q}{2F} =158.172\ \mathrm{mol}, \]

\[ n_{\ce{O2}} =\frac{\eta_{\ce{O2}}Q}{4F} =98.6727\ \mathrm{mol}. \]

Using unrounded values,

\[ V_{\mathrm C} =n_{\ce{H2}}V_m =3545.28\ \mathrm{dm^3} \approx\boxed{3.55\times10^3\ \mathrm{dm^3}}, \]

\[ V_{\mathrm A} =n_{\ce{O2}}V_m =2211.65\ \mathrm{dm^3} \approx\boxed{2.21\times10^3\ \mathrm{dm^3}}, \]

and

\[ \frac{V_{\mathrm C}}{V_{\mathrm A}}=1.603. \]

Overall reaction balance

The two redox-cycle half-reactions cancel when added. Chromium deposition coupled to oxygen evolution gives

\[ \ce{2H2CrO4 -> 2Cr + 2H2O + 3O2}, \]

or, expressed using the original acid anhydride,

\[ \boxed{\ce{2CrO3 -> 2Cr + 3O2}}. \]

The accompanying net water electrolysis is

\[ \boxed{\ce{2H2O -> 2H2 + O2}}. \]

Thus a useful independent stoichiometric check is

\[ n_{\ce{O2}} =\frac32n_{\ce{Cr}}+\frac12n_{\ce{H2}}, \]

which the corrected amounts satisfy.

The bath initially contains \(23.0\ \mathrm{kg}\) of \(\ce{CrO3}\). Deposition consumes only

\[ (13.0577\ \mathrm{mol})(100.00\ \mathrm{g\,mol^{-1}}) =1.31\ \mathrm{kg} \]

net; the closed chromium(VI)/chromium(III) cycle causes no additional net consumption.

The solution was checked against the official solution.