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Calculate the corrosion potential of a pure copper metal electrode immersed in a 0.1 M solution of CuSO4 at 298 K, given that the standard electrode potential of Cu2+/Cu is +0.34 V and the standard potenti

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To calculate the corrosion potential of the copper electrode, we can use the Nernst equation:E = E -  RT/nF  * ln Q where E is the corrosion potential, E is the standard electrode potential, R is the gas constant  8.314 J/molK , T is the temperature in Kelvin  298 K , n is the number of electrons transferred in the redox reaction  2 for Cu2+/Cu , F is the Faraday constant  96485 C/mol , and Q is the reaction quotient.For the Cu2+/Cu redox couple, the reaction is:Cu2+ + 2e- -> CuThe reaction quotient, Q, is given by:Q = [Cu]/[Cu2+]Since the copper metal is in its pure form, its activity is 1. The concentration of Cu2+ ions in the 0.1 M CuSO4 solution is 0.1 M. Therefore, Q = 1/0.1 = 10.Now we can plug the values into the Nernst equation:E = 0.34 -  8.314 * 298 /  2 * 96485   * ln 10 E  0.34 -  0.043 / 2  * 2.303E  0.34 - 0.043 * 1.1515E  0.34 - 0.0495E  0.2905 VThe corrosion potential of the copper electrode in the 0.1 M CuSO4 solution is approximately 0.2905 V.Now, let's discuss the likelihood of corrosion. The corrosion potential is positive, which means that the copper electrode is more resistant to corrosion in this environment. A positive potential indicates that the copper electrode is more likely to be reduced  gain electrons  rather than oxidized  lose electrons . In other words, the copper electrode is more likely to remain as a solid metal rather than corroding and dissolving into the solution as Cu2+ ions.In conclusion, the likelihood of the copper electrode corroding in this given environment is low due to its positive corrosion potential.

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