Environmental decay of historical buildings and outdoor works of art is an incre

Question

Environmental decay of historical buildings and outdoor works of art is an increasing problem. The Statue of Liberty on Ellis Island was constructed of an iron skeleton covered with a copper exterior, with layers of asbestos as insulation between the copper and iron. Because the Statue is composed of two dissimilar metals, redox mediated corrosion occurred when the asbestos wore away and the iron contacted the copper. The Statue was refurbished in the 1980s to repair the existing corrosion and prevent more from happening. Answer the following question concerning the Statue. 3. (a) Given the following reduction half-cell potentials, caleulate the standard potential (E°cell) for a voltaic cell consisting of copper and iron. pored =-0.44 Ere,-+ 0.34 Note:for a complete redox reaction to occur, you will need to shift the direction of one of these half reactions, and also shift the sign of the given E red value to obtain a halfcell E ox in the direction where the full reaction is found to be favorable (E ceil >0).

Explanation / Answer

In the given circumstances and the reaction Fe is always oxidised, but the half life given shows that it is reduced therefore reversing it we can thereby calculate E0

Fe+2 + 2e- - - - > Fe0 E0= - 0.44

Reversing

Fe0 - - - >Fe+2 + 2e-    E0 = +0.44

Cu+2 + 2e- - - - > Cu0 E0= +0.34

Therefore

E0(cell) = E0oxd + E0red

E0 = 0.44+0.34

E0 = 0.78

Related Questions

Navigate

• Browse (All)
• Browse E
• Subjects

---

---

Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.