CHEM Investigatory PROJECT (DANIEL CELL) CBSE 2020 CLASS 12

Contents
INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................. 2
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ELECTROCHEMICAL CELL AND ELECTROLYTIC CELL ........................................ 3
DANIEL CELL ...................................................................................................................................... 4
WORKING OF A DANIEL CELL ............................................................................................................. 5
INTRODUCTION
An electrochemical cell is a device capable of either
generating electrical energy from chemical reactions.
The Gibbs free energy of a reaction is converted to
usable electrical energy instead of wasting it as heat
dissipation.
The electrochemical cells which generate an electric
current are called voltaic cells or galvanic cells and
those that generate chemical reactions,
via electrolysis for example, are called electrolytic cells.
A common example of a galvanic cell is a standard 1.5
volt cell meant for consumer use. A battery consists of
one or more cells, connected in parallel, series or series-
and-parallel pattern.
An electrolytic cell is an electrochemical cell that drives

a non-spontaneous redox reaction through the
application of electrical energy. They are often used to
decompose chemical compounds, in a process
called electrolysis.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ELECTROCHEMICAL CELL AND
ELECTROLYTIC CELL
DANIEL CELL
The Daniel cell is a type of electrochemical cell invented
in 1836 by John Frederic Daniel, a British chemist and
meteorologist, and consists of a copper pot filled with a
copper (II) sulphate solution, in which is immersed an
unglazed earthenware container filled with sulphuric acid
and a zinc electrode. He was searching for a way to
eliminate the hydrogen bubble problem found in the
voltaic pile, and his solution was to use a second
electrolyte to consume the hydrogen produced by the
first. Zinc sulphate may be substituted for the sulphuric
acid.
The Daniel cell was a great improvement over the
existing technology used in the early days of battery
development. A later variant of the Daniel cell called the
gravity cell or crowfoot cell was invented in the 1860s by
a Frenchman named Callaud and became a popular
choice for electrical telegraphy.
The Daniel cell is also the historical basis for the
contemporary definition of the volt, which is the unit of
electromotive force in the International System of Units.
The definitions of electrical units that were proposed at
the 1881 International Conference of Electricians were
designed so that the electromotive force of the Daniel
cell would be about 1.0 volts. With contemporary
definitions, the standard potential of the Daniel cell at
25°C is actually 1.10 V.
AIM
To build a Daniel cell using copper and zinc electrodes and
measure the potential difference between them using a
multimeter.
THEORY
1. Structure of the cell
A container lined with copper (the cathode) forms the
outer portion of this device, and is filled with copper
sulphate, an electrolyte that reacts chemically with the
solid copper. Into this a second container is inserted,
made of a porous material, containing the zinc (the
anode) in an electrolyte of zinc sulphate.
2. Chemical Reaction
When the two metals are connected by an external
circuit, the copper attracts the electrons (depicted by
small yellow particles) left over in the zinc as that metal
gets oxidized in the zinc sulphate. This oxidation causes
the zinc to gradually corrode, a process depicted by the
darkening of the zinc.
The electrons the copper receives from the zinc through
the circuit combine with the positively charged aqueous
copper ions (the dark copper coloured particles below)
to form deposits of solid copper on the metal, depicted
by the lighter copper-coloured particles adhering to the
copper plate.
The sulphates (depicted above as blue and yellow
molecules) also play an important role in maintaining
this circuit. For every pair of electrons pulled through the
wire from the zinc to the copper, a sulphate ion (bearing
two negative charges) passes through the solution to
compensate, from the copper side through the porous
container to the zinc side.
This allows the electron flow through the circuit to
continue. The zinc metal breaks up into positive
aqueous ions (the light gray particles) that combine with
the incoming sulphates, releasing more electrons to the
system.
Oxidation half reaction, Reduction half reaction Net reaction
Zn(s) → Zn2+(aq) + 2e- Cu2+(aq) + 2e- → Cu (s) Zn(s) + Cu2+ (aq) → Zn2+(aq) + Cu(s)
HISTORY OF THE DANIEL CELL
Daniel first constructed his cell in 1836. His original design

consisted of a 3.5 inch diameter copper cylinder. A copper disc
perforated with numerous holes was placed across the cylinder
recessed down from the top. A tube of ox gullet hung from a large
hole in the centre of the perforated copper disc. A 0.5 inch
diameter zinc rod hung inside this ox-gullet tube suspended from
wooden supports.
The porous pot cell consists of a central zinc anode dipped into a
porous earthenware pot containing a zinc sulphate solution. The
porous pot is, in turn, immersed in a solution of copper sulphate
contained in a copper can, which acts as the cell's cathode. The
use of a porous barrier allows ions to pass through but keeps the
solutions from mixing. Without this barrier, when no current is
drawn the copper ions will drift to the zinc anode and undergo
reduction without producing a current, which will shorten the
battery's life.
This variant, called a gravity cell, consists of a glass jar in which a
copper cathode sat on the bottom and a zinc anode is suspended
beneath the rim in the zinc sulphate layer. Copper sulphate
crystals are scattered around the cathode and the jar then filled
with distilled water. As the current is drawn, a layer of zinc
sulphate solution forms at the top around the anode. This top
layer is kept separate from the bottom copper sulphate layer by
its lower density and by the polarity of the cell. A disadvantage of
the gravity cell is that a current has to be continually drawn to
keep the two solutions from mixing by diffusion, so it is unsuitable
for intermittent use. In addition, it was vulnerable to loss of
integrity if too much electric current is drawn, which also causes
the layers to mix.

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Contents

An electrolytic cell is an electrochemical cell that drives

Daniel first constructed his cell in 1836. His original design

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