CONTENTS

SNO TITLE

1 INTRODUCTION
2 GALVANIC RUSTING
3 MECHANISM OF RUSTING
4 WHAT IS THE CHEMISTRY BEHIND RUSTING OF
IRON
5 RUSTING IN NON METALS
6 EXPERIMENT
7 HOW CAN BE RUSTING PREVENTED?
 INTRODUCTION
Rusting of iron refers to the formation of rust, a mixture of iron oxides,
on the surface of iron objects or structures. This rust is formed from a
redox reaction between oxygen and iron in an environment containing
water (such as air containing high levels of moisture). The rusting of
iron is characterized by the formation of a layer of a red, flaky substance
that easily crumbles into a powder. This phenomenon is a great
example of the corrosion of metals, where the surfaces of metals are
degraded into more chemically stable oxides. However, the term
‘rusting’ is generally used to refer to the corrosion of objects made of
iron or iron-alloys. The most common example of metallic corrosion is
rusting of iron and steel. Several forms of rust are distinguishable both
visually and by spectroscopy, and form under different circumstances.
Rust consists of hydrated iron (III) oxides Fe2O3-nH2O and iron (III)
oxide hydroxide (FeO(OH), Fe(OH)3). Given sufficient time, oxygen and
water, any iron mass will eventually convert entirely to rust and
disintegrate. Surface rust is flaky and friable, and provides no protection
to the underlying iron, unlike the formation of patina on copper
surfaces. Rusting is the common term for corrosion of iron and its
alloys, such as steel. Many other metals undergo equivalent corrosion,
but the resulting oxides are not commonly called rust. Other forms of
rust exist, like the result of reactions between iron and chloride in an
environment deprived of oxygen – rebar used in underwater concrete
pillars is an example – which generates green rust.
GALVANIC RUSTING
Galvanic corrosion (also called bimetallic corrosion) is an
electrochemical process in which one metal corrodes preferentially
when it is in electrical contact with another, in the presence of an
electrolyte. EXAMPLE-A common example of galvanic corrosion occurs
in corrugated iron, a sheet of iron or steel covered with a zinc coating.
Even when the protective zinc coating is broken, the underlying steel is
not attacked. Instead, the zinc is corroded because it is less noble; only
after it has been consumed can rusting of the base metal occur in
earnest. By contrast, with a traditional tin can, the opposite of a
protective effect occurs: because the tin is more noble than the
underlying steel, when the tin coating is broken, the steel beneath is
immediately attacked preferentially. Statue of Liberty-A spectacular
example of galvanic corrosion occurred in the Statue of Liberty when
regular maintenance checks in the 1980s revealed that corrosion had
taken place between the outer copper skin and the wrought iron
support structure. Although the problem had been anticipated when
the structure was built by Gustave Eiffel to Frédéric Bartholdi's design in
the 1880s, the insulation layer of shellac between the two metals had
failed over time and resulted in rusting of the iron supports. The
structure was far from unsafe owing to the large number of unaffected
connections, but it was regarded as a precautionary measure to
preserve a national symbol of the United States.
MECHANISM OF RUSTING
OVERVIEW
The theory of rust can be explained by taking the example of rusting of
iron. The theory is called electrochemical theory because it explains the
formation of rust on the basis of formation of electrochemical cells on
the surface of the metal. The overall rusting involves the following
steps: (i) Oxidation occurs at the anodes of each electrochemical cell.
Therefore, at each anode neutral iron atoms are oxidised to ferrous
ions. At anode: Thus, the metal atoms in the lattice pass into the
solution as ions, leaving electrons on the metal itself. These electrons
move towards the cathode region through the metal. (ii) At the
cathodes of each cell, the electrons are taken up by hydrogen ions
(reduction takes place). The ions are obtained either from water or
from acidic substances (e.g. in water Or At cathode: The hydrogen
atoms on the iron surface reduce dissolved oxygen. Therefore, the
overall reaction at cathode of different electrochemical cells may be
written as, (iii) The overall redox reaction may be written by multiplying
reaction at anode by 2 and adding reaction at cathode to equalise
number of electrons lost and gained-
WHAT IS CHEMISTRY
BEHIND RUSTING OF IRON?
The exposure of iron (or an alloy of iron) to oxygen in the presence of
moisture leads to the formation of rust. This reaction is not
instantaneous, it generally proceeds over a considerably large time
frame. The oxygen atoms bond with iron atoms, resulting in the
formation of iron oxides. This weakens the bonds between the iron
atoms in the object/structure.

The reaction of the rusting of iron involves an increase in the oxidation

state of iron, accompanied by a loss of electrons. Rust is mostly made
up of two different oxides of iron that vary in the oxidation state of the
iron atom. These oxides are:

Iron(II) oxide or ferrous oxide. The oxidation state of iron in this

compound is +2 and its chemical formula is FeO. Iron(III) oxide or ferric
oxide, where the iron atom exhibits an oxidation state of +3. The
chemical formula of this compound is Fe203.
 RUSTING IN METALS
Corrosion is often thought of as the oxidation of metals such as iron,
but ceramics also corrode, or react with their environment. Concrete,
for example, generally is very stable, but it contains calcium hydroxide
and calcium aluminate, which are attacked by sulphates, such as
calcium sulphate often present in ground water. Tungsten carbide,
usually highly resistant to corrosion, is destroyed in less than a week of
contact with sulphuric acid, H2SO4. CERAMICS-Most of the ceramics
material are almost immune to corrosion. The strong ionic/covalent
bonds that hold them together leave very little free chemical energy in
the structure. So, they can be thought of as already corroded. An
example of corrosion protection in ceramics is the lime added to
sodalime glass to reduce its solubility in water. POLYMERS- Corrosion on
polymers, both plastics and rubber materials, is in many cases similar to
metals but in other cases it looks very different. Corrosion attacks on
polymers are often hard to discover, the material may look normal but
can in fact be embrittled and have lost its mechanical strength.
Mechanical stressed polymers applied in chemical environments may
initiate cracks on the surfaces. These cracks can thereafter propagate
through the material either as a result of the mechanical stresses or in
combination with continuing chemical attack. Corrosion of polymers
can be divided into either chemical reaction or physical interaction..
CHEMICAL REACTION – Polymers consist of a network with molecular
chains mainly consisting of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. Corrosion by
chemical reaction changes the configuration of the polymer chains.
 ExPERIMENT
• OBJECTIVE: TO STUDY THE EFFECT OF METAL COUPLING
ON RUSTING OF IRON.
• AIM – In this project the aim is to investigate effect of the
metals coupling on the rusting of iron. Metal coupling affects the
rusting of iron. If the nail is coupled with a more electro-
positive metal like zinc, magnesium or aluminium rusting is
prevented but if on the other hand, it is coupled with less
electro-positive metals like copper, the rusting is facilitated
• APPARATUS – coupling of rusting on iron
• EQUIPMENTS REQUIRED: 1 Two Petri dishes 2 Four test- tube
3 Four iron nails 4 Beaker 5 Sand paper 6 Wire gauge 7 Gelatine 8
Copper, Zinc and Magnesium strips 9 Potassium ferricyanide
solutions 10 Phenolphthalein Phenolphthalein Potassium
Ferricyanide Solution
• PROCEDURE
1. At first we have to clean the surface of iron nails with the help
of sand paper.
2. After that we have to wind zinc strip around one nail, a clean
copper wire around the second and clean magnesium strip
around the third nail. Then to put all these three and a fourth
nail in Petri dishes so that they are not in contact with each
other
 3. Then to fill the Petri dishes with hot agar-agar solution in such
away that only lower half of the nails are covered with the
liquids
4. Keep the covered Petri dishes for one day or so.

5. The liquids set to a gel on cooling. Two types of patches are

observed around the rusted nail, one is blue and the other pink.
Blue patch is due to the formation of potassium Ferro-
ferricyanide where pink patch is due to the formation of
hydroxyl ions which turns colourless phenolphthalein to pink.
Zinc strip wrapped around one nail.
OBSERVATION TABLE
METAL PAIR COLOR OF NAIL RUST OR
PATCH NOT
IRON – ZINC PINK NO

IRON – PINK NO
MAGNESIUM
IRON – COPPER BLUE YES

CONCLUSION: It is clear from the observation that coupling of iron

with more electropositive metals such as zinc and magnesium resists
corrosion and rusting of iron. Coupling of iron with less electropositive
metals such as copper increases rusting.
HOW CAN RUSTING BE
PREVENTED?
Iron and its alloys are widely used in the construction of many
structures and in many machines and objects. Therefore, the
prevention of the corrosion of iron is very important. Some
preventive methods are listed below. Alloys that are Resistant to
Rusting
Some alloys of iron are rust-resistant. Examples include stainless
steel (which features a layer of chromium(III) oxide) and
weathering steel. COR-TEN steel rusts at
a relatively slower rate when compared to normal steel. In this
alloy, the rust forms a protective layer on the surface of the alloy,
preventing further corrosion.
•Galvanization
Galvanization is the process of applying a protective layer of zinc
on a metal. It is a very common method of preventing the rusting
of iron.
This can be done by dipping the metal to be protected in hot,
molten zinc or by the process of electroplating.
Zinc is a relatively cheap metal that sticks to steel easily. It also
offers cathodic protection to the iron surface by acting as
anode. The zinc layer is corroded instead of the iron due to this.
The disadvantages of galvanization are that it only provides
protection from corrosion for a limited amount of time since the
zinc layer is eaten up in the process. It is not very effective in
highly corrosive areas (where cadmium coating can be used
instead).
• CATHODIC PROTECTION
Providing the metals with an electric charge can help inhibit the
electrochemical reactions that lead to rusting.
This can be done by making the iron/steel a cathode by attaching
a sacrificial anode to it.
This sacrificial anode must have an electrode potential that is
more negative than that of iron.
Metals that are commonly used as sacrificial anodes are
magnesium, zinc, and aluminium. Once they are corroded
away, They must be replaced in order to protect the iron/steel.
• COATINGS
Many types of coatings can be applied to the surface of the
exposed metal in order to prevent corrosion. Common examples
of coatings that prevent corrosion include paints, wax tapes, and
varnish.
Smaller objects are coated with water-displacing oils that prevent
the rusting of the object. Many industrial machines and tools
made of iron are coated with a layer of grease, which lubricates
the metal to reduce friction and prevents rusting at the same
time.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. www.wikipedia.com

2. www.scholr.com

3. www.scribd.com