Silver plating of ornaments or utensils is done by electrolysis of a soluble silver compound. The object to be plated at one of the electrodes. If 26.8g of silver is to be deposited, how long in minutes will it take to plate the object using a current of 0.898 A?
To calculate the time required for silver plating, we need to determine the amount of charge (Q) required to deposit 26.8g of silver using the Faraday's law of electrolysis.
The amount of charge (Q) is given by the equation:
Q = I * t
Where:
Q = amount of charge (in coulombs)
I = current (in amperes)
t = time (in seconds)
To convert the time from seconds to minutes, we'll use the conversion factor 1 minute = 60 seconds.
The Faraday's constant (F) is the charge per mole of electrons and is equal to 96,485 C/mol.
The molar mass of silver (Ag) is 107.87 g/mol.
First, let's calculate the moles of silver (n) required to deposit 26.8g:
n = mass / molar mass
n = 26.8g / 107.87 g/mol
n = 0.248 mol
Now, we can calculate the amount of charge (Q) required:
Q = n * F
Q = 0.248 mol * 96,485 C/mol
Q = 24,000 C
Next, we'll calculate the time (t) required using the current (I):
Q = I * t
24,000 C = 0.898 A * t
t = 24,000 C / 0.898 A
t = 26,726 seconds
Finally, we'll convert the time from seconds to minutes:
t (minutes) = t (seconds) / 60
t (minutes) = 26,726 s / 60
t (minutes) ≈ 445.43 minutes
Therefore, it will take approximately 445.43 minutes to plate the object with a current of 0.898 A.