solution in the beaker for copper as follows, remembering
that it is to be used for subsequent determinations of iron and zinc:
Remove about 5 cc. and add a slight excess of ammonia. Compare the
mixture with some distilled water, holding both above a white surface.
The solution should not show any tinge of blue. If the presence of
copper is indicated, add the test portion to the main solution,
evaporate the whole to a volume of about 100 cc., and again
electrolyze with clean electrodes (Note 7).
After cooling the electrodes in a desiccator, weigh them and from the
weight of copper on the cathode and of lead dioxide (PbO_{2}) on the
anode, calculate the percentage of copper (Cu) and of lead (Pb) in the
brass.
[Note 1: It is obvious that the brass taken for analysis should be
untarnished, which can be easily assured, when wire is used, by
scouring with emery. If chips or borings are used, they should be well
mixed, and the sample for analysis taken from different parts of the
mixture.]
[Note 2: If a white residue remains upon treatment of the alloy with
nitric acid, it indicates the presence of tin. The material is not,
therefore, a true brass. This may be treated as follows: Evaporate the
solution to dryness, moisten the residue with 5 cc. of dilute nitric
acid (sp. gr. 1.2) and add 50 cc. of hot water. Filter off the
meta-stannic acid, wash, ignite in porcelain and weigh as SnO_{2}.
This oxide is never wholly free from copper and must be purified for
an exact determination. If it does not exceed 2 per cent of the alloy,
the quantity of copper which it contains may usually be neglected.]
[Note 3: The electrodes should be freed from all greasy matter before
using, and those portions upon which the metal will deposit should not
be touched with the fingers after cleaning.]
[Note 4: Of the ions in solution, the H^{+}, Cu^{++}, Zn^{++}, and
Fe^{+++} ions tend to move toward the cathode. The NO_{3}^{-} ions and
the lead, probably in the form of PbO_{2}^{--} ions, move toward the
anode. At the cathode the Cu^{++} ions are discharged and plate out as
metallic copper. This alone occurs while the solution is relatively
concentrated. Later on, H^{+} ions are also discharged. In the
presence of considerable quantities of H^{+} ions, as in this acid
solution, no Zn^{++} or Fe^{+++} ions are discharged because of their
greater deposition potentials. At the anode the lead is deposited as
PbO_{2} and oxygen is evolved.
For
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