This is a short electromotive series list that only contains the common metals. The list could be expanded to contain every element and alloy.
The rule is that a metal will drop out of solution any metal below it in the list. The metal used also must be soluble in that particular solution. The metal used actually trades places with the metal(s) that it is dropping. It dissolves into the solution and the other metals drop out, as metal powders, usually. The metal will not drop out any metal above it or, itself. The general dropping out process is called cementation.
For example, you have an HCl solution containing copper, nickel, gold, and palladium. You can first drop out the gold and palladium using metallic copper. The copper will not drop the dissolved nickel or copper. After collecting the gold and palladium, you can use aluminum or iron (steel) to drop out the nickel and copper, as metallic powder. The end result is much less toxic.
The greater the surface area of the metal, the faster the other metals will drop out of solution.
Sometimes, the metal doing the dropping gets completely covered with the metals being dropped and, the reaction slows down. Scrap it to expose fresh metal.
If you drop silver from a nitric acid solution containing excess nitric acid, using copper, the excess acid will, at first, only dissolve copper. When the excess acid is used up, the copper will start cementing silver.
Here's a simplistic way of looking at the EM series. The metals at the bottom want to be metals. The metals at the top don't want to be metals - they want to be metallic compounds. In nature, gold is often found in metallic form, copper is sometimes found in metallic form, and aluminum is never found in metallic form. A long time ago, aluminum metal was more valuable than gold because no one could reduce aluminum compounds to aluminum metal, except in small quantities, at great expense. They used such super powerful things as metallic potassium to do this. It was so valuable that some king or queen (British, I think) had a crown made from aluminum.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aluminum
Magnesium
Aluminum
Zinc
Chromium
Iron
Cadmium
Nickel
Tin
Lead
Hydrogen
Copper
Silver
Palladium
Mercury
Platinum
Gold
The rule is that a metal will drop out of solution any metal below it in the list. The metal used also must be soluble in that particular solution. The metal used actually trades places with the metal(s) that it is dropping. It dissolves into the solution and the other metals drop out, as metal powders, usually. The metal will not drop out any metal above it or, itself. The general dropping out process is called cementation.
For example, you have an HCl solution containing copper, nickel, gold, and palladium. You can first drop out the gold and palladium using metallic copper. The copper will not drop the dissolved nickel or copper. After collecting the gold and palladium, you can use aluminum or iron (steel) to drop out the nickel and copper, as metallic powder. The end result is much less toxic.
The greater the surface area of the metal, the faster the other metals will drop out of solution.
Sometimes, the metal doing the dropping gets completely covered with the metals being dropped and, the reaction slows down. Scrap it to expose fresh metal.
If you drop silver from a nitric acid solution containing excess nitric acid, using copper, the excess acid will, at first, only dissolve copper. When the excess acid is used up, the copper will start cementing silver.
Here's a simplistic way of looking at the EM series. The metals at the bottom want to be metals. The metals at the top don't want to be metals - they want to be metallic compounds. In nature, gold is often found in metallic form, copper is sometimes found in metallic form, and aluminum is never found in metallic form. A long time ago, aluminum metal was more valuable than gold because no one could reduce aluminum compounds to aluminum metal, except in small quantities, at great expense. They used such super powerful things as metallic potassium to do this. It was so valuable that some king or queen (British, I think) had a crown made from aluminum.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aluminum
Magnesium
Aluminum
Zinc
Chromium
Iron
Cadmium
Nickel
Tin
Lead
Hydrogen
Copper
Silver
Palladium
Mercury
Platinum
Gold