CHEMISTRY INVESTIGATORY PROJECT

Submitted By
M.SHARVESH RAGHAVENDRA PERUMAL

(Reg. No: )
To the Faculty of Chemistry
In partial fulfilment of the requirements for the project work of

GRADE XII (CBSE)

Branch of Chemistry

THE INDIAN PUBLIC SCHOOL

Coimbatore
BATCH: 2022-2023

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 THE INDIAN PUBLIC SCHOOL - Coimbatore

INVESTIGATORY PROJECT
2022-23

Chemistry

Name of the M.SHARVESH RAGHAVENDRA

Candidate
PERUMAL

Register No

Center Code

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 The Indian Public School – Coimbatore AISSCE
Practical Report
2020-2021
CHEMISTRY INVESTIGATORY PROJECT

BONAFIDE CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that Master/Miss M.Sharvesh of Grade XII has

Satisfactorily completed the Chemistry project on
CONSTRUCTION WORKING AND USES OF DANIELL CELL.

under the guidance of Dr. M.Sasthaa Begum for AISSCE Practical

examination during the year 2022-2023.
DATE: TEACHER IN-CHARGE

Submitted for the Practical Examination held on at The Indian Public School, Coimbatore.

PRINCIPAL
INTERNAL EXTERNAL
EXAMINER EXAMINER

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CONSTRUCTION WORKING AND USES OF DANIELL
CELL
BY
M.SHARVESH RAGHAVENDRA PERUMAL

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 INDEX
Sl Content Page

No. No.

1. Acknowledgement

2. Introduction 6

3. Daniel Cell 7

4. Construction of the Daniel cell 8

5. The working of the cell 10

6. Functioning of daniel cell on application of external voltage opposing cell 11

potential is applied
7. Uses of Daniel cell 13

8. Bibliography 14

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 INTRODUCTION:
ELECTROCHEMISTRY:
The field of physical chemistry known as electrochemistry
studies how a recognisable chemical change and an electrical
potential difference interact as a measurable and quantitative
phenomenon, with the potential difference either resulting
from or being a cause of the chemical change.

ELECTROCHEMICAL CELLS:
An electrochemical cell is a device that can use electrical
energy to facilitate chemical reactions inside of it or create
electrical energy from those reactions. These gadgets can
change chemical energy into electrical energy or the other
way around. They are of two main types: electrolytic and
galvanic.Unlike galvanic cells electrolytic cells require
electric currents to facilitate the cell reaction in order to
produce the required chemical energy. Certain
electrochemical cells such as fuel cells produce energy
perpetually as they only need a continuous supply of fuel to
produce energy and the water formed as a by-product can also
be used for drinking purposes. Applications of
electrochemical cells include:
• Electrolytic cells are used in the electrorefining of many

non-ferrous metals. They are also used in the

electrowinning of these metals.
• The production of high-purity lead, zinc, aluminium, and

copper involves the use of electrolytic cells.

• Metallic sodium can be extracted from molten sodium

chloride by placing it in an electrolytic cell and passing

an electric current through it.
• Many commercially important batteries (such as the

lead-acid battery) are made up of Galvanic cells.

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 • Fuel cells are an important class of electrochemical cells
that serve as a source of clean energy in several remote
locations.
TYPES OF ELECTROCHEMICAL CELLS:
PRIMARY CELLS:
In primary cells the reaction occurs only once and the battery
becomes dead after we use it over a given period of time and
cannot be reused.Primary batteries are single-use galvanic
cells that store electricity for convenient usage, usually
showing a good shelf life. Examples are zinc–carbon
(Leclanché) cells, alkaline zinc–manganese dioxide cells, and
metal–air-depolarized batteries. Primary lithium cells are now
available. After use, primary batteries are discarded or, if
legally (environmentally) required or for material cost-saving
reasons, chemically reprocessed.

SECONDARY CELLS:
Secondary batteries are electrically rechargeable. The most
common application is the use of lead–acid batteries in
automobiles for starting, lighting, and ignition (SLI) purposes.
Nickel–cadmium, nickel–metal hydride, and lithium batteries
are gaining large market sections. They are recharged by
passing current in the opposite direction through them.
FUEL CELLS:
Galvanic cells that are designed to convert the energy of
combustion fuels like H2 , methane, methanol, etc directly into
electrical energy. These cells are more efficient than typical
galvanic cells. They are eco friendly and the water obtained as
a by-product may be used for drinking purposes. These cells
provide energy for as long as fuel is supplied and so there is
no worry of the cells fuel supply diminishing and hence
affecting the power output in any manner.

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 DANIELL CELL:

The Daniell cell is a type of electrochemical cell invented in

1836 by John Frederic Danielll, a
British chemist and meteorologist. It consists of a copper pot
filled with a copper (II) sulphate solution, in which is
immersed a container filled with sulfuric acid and a zinc
electrode. The Daniell cell was a great improvement over the
existing technology used in the early days
of battery development. A later variant of the Daniell 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 Daniell 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.

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 CONSTRUCTION:
Daniell’s original construction:

Daniell 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 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. The copper
vessel was filled with sulfuric acid solution saturated with
copper sulphate to above the level of the perforated disc. The
ox-gullet tube was filled with sulfuric acid solution. Copper
sulphate crystals were piled on the perforated copper disc to
keep the solution saturated. The ox-gullet acts as a porous
membrane allowing passage of ions. Daniell states that a
porous earthenware tube may be used instead of the ox gullet
for practical ease but this arrangement will produce less
power.

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Porous pot cell:

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. The replacement
of sulfuric acid with zinc sulphate was the innovation of J. F.
Fuller in 1853. It prolongs the life of the cell.

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Modern construction:

Modern construction of the Daniell cell involves two

electrodes of copper and zinc respectively with both of these
electrodes dipped in copper sulphate and zinc sulphate
respectively This circuit is completed by using a salt bridge
consisting of AgNO3 or KCl in the medium agar -
agar/NH4NO3/KNO3/K2SO4.

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 THE WORKING OF THE CELL:
In the Daniell cell, copper and zinc electrodes are immersed in
a solution of copper(II) sulphate and zinc sulphate,
respectively.
The chemical energy liberated during this reaction is
converted to electrical energy and has an electrical potential of
1.1 V across the electrodes. This is when the concentration of
Zn2+ and Cu2+ ions is in unity.
At each electrode-electrolyte interface, there is a tendency of
metal ions from the solution to deposit on the electrode in an
attempt to make it positively charged. At the same time, metal
atoms of the electrode have a tendency to enter the solution in
the form of ions and hence leave an electron at the electrode
in an attempt to make it negatively charged.
At equilibrium, there is a separation of charges and depending
on the tendencies of the two opposite reactions, the electrode
may be positively or negatively charged with respect to the
electrolyte present in the electrolytic cell. A potential
difference develops between the electrode and electrolyte
called the electrode potential.
In a galvanic cell such as the Daniell cell, the half cell in
which oxidation takes place is called the anode and has a
negative potential and the half cell in which reduction takes
place is called the cathode which has a positive potential with
respect to the solution.
At the anode (negative electrode), zinc is oxidised as per the
following half reaction:
Zn(s) → Zn2+(aq) + 2e−
At the cathode (positive electrode), copper is reduced as per
the following reaction:
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 Cu2+(aq) + 2e− → Cu(s)
The total reaction is:
Zn(s) + Cu2+(aq) → Zn2+(aq) + Cu(s)

Zinc loses weight due to it getting oxidised and Zn2+ ions

enter the solution due to which the concentration of Zn2+ in
ZnSO4.
Copper gets deposited on the electrode. Electrons from the
zinc rod move towards the copper rod, where Cu2+ ions from
the solution CuSO4 accept these electrons and get reduced to
Cu therefore they get deposited.
The concentration of Cu2+ decreases due to the above reaction.

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FUNCTIONING OF DANIELL CELL ON
APPLICATION OF EXTERNAL VOLTAGE
OPPOSING CELL POTENTIAL IS APPLIED:
i) When Eex < 1.1 V :

• Electrons flow from Zn rod to Cu rod, hence current

flows from Cu rod to Zn rod.
• Zinc dissolves at anode, Cu deposits at cathode.

ii) When Eex=1.1 V :

• No flow of current or electrons in this case.

• No chemical reaction.

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iii) When Eex > 1.1 V :

• Flow of electrons from Cu rod to Zn rod and current

flows from Zn rod to Cu rod.
• Zinc deposits at Zn electrode and copper dissolves at Cu
electrode therefore it functions as an electrolytic cell.

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USES OF THE DANIELL CELL:
1. The Daniell cell produces and stores electricity as
various reactions occur. This electricity can then be used
later.

2. It forms the basis for the making of primary cells and

secondary cells.

3. As these cells assisted in the storage of electric energy,

they subsequently evolved into the central concept of battery
development, leading to the creation of batteries.

4. It aided in the development of electrical telegraphy,

which used an automatic sender made of a plate with long and
short metal bars to represent the alphabet and digits in Morse
code. The correct dots and dashes were sent over the line as
soon as the operator moved a pointer that was wired to a
battery and the sending wire across the bars.
5. Uses in metallurgy:
Bird's cell
A variant of the Daniell cell was invented in 1837 by
Guy's hospital physician Golding Bird who used a
plaster of Paris barrier to keep the solutions separate. Bird's
experiments with this cell were of some importance to the
new discipline of electrometallurgy, but Bird himself did not
pursue this field; his interest was in electrotherapy. A
surprising result from Bird's experiments was the deposition
of copper on the porous plaster and in veins running through it
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without any contact with the metal electrodes. So surprising,
in fact, that it was at first disbelieved by electrochemical
investigators, including Michael Faraday. Bird himself had to
carefully examine his apparatus for inadvertent contact,
perhaps through the growth of copper "whiskers", before he
was convinced of the result. Deposition of copper, and other
metals, had been previously noted, but always previously it
had been metal on metal electrode.
Electrotyping
John Dancer, a Liverpool instrument maker, in 1838 was the
first to take commercial advantage of the unique features of
the Daniell cell for copper plating. In a process now known as
electrotyping he found he could make objects to any desired
shape by using the porous barrier as a mould. Many others,
however, had made the same discovery and in a patent dispute
with Thomas Spencer it was pointed out that Bird had priority
for the principle. Credit for invention of electrotyping is
usually given to the Russian Moritz von Jacobi.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniell_cell
• https://ncerthelp.com/text.php?ques=What+are+the+cons
truction+and+functioning+of+Daniell+cell+or+galvanic
+cell
• https://byjus.com/chemistry/electrochemical-cell/
• https://www.vedantu.com/chemistry/daniell-cell
• https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/primar
y-
battery#:~:text=Primary%20batteries%20are%20single%
2Duse,metal%E2%80%93air%2Ddepolarized%20batteri
es.

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