Question

An aqueous solution of an unknown salt of palladium is electrolyzed by a current of 2.50 a passing for 48.0 min. if 1.985 g pd is produced at the cathode, what is the charge on the palladium ions in solution?

Answer 1

The charge on the palladium ions in the unknown salt can be calculated using Faraday's law of electrolysis. The charge is found to be 0.149 mol.

Step-by-step explanation:

To calculate the charge on the palladium ions in the unknown salt, we need to use Faraday's law of electrolysis:

Charge (Q) = Current (I) × Time (t)

First, we need to convert the current from amperes (A) to coulombs (C). Since 1 ampere is equal to 1 coulomb per second, we multiply the current by the time (converted to seconds) to get the total charge:

Charge = 2.50 A × (48.0 min × 60 s/min) = 7200 C

Since 1 mole of electrons carries 1 Faraday of charge (96485 C) in electrolysis, we can calculate the number of moles of electrons (n) using the equation:

n = Q / Faraday

Substituting in the known values, we get:

n = 7200 C / 96485 C/mol = 0.0746 mol

Since the electrolysis of palladium ions involves the reduction of 2 moles of electrons per mole of palladium deposited, the charge on the palladium ions in solution is twice the number of moles of electrons:

Charge on palladium ions = 2 × 0.0746 mol = 0.149 mol