Green colour on copper utensils is due to.......
Answers
Copper metal when exposed to air turns green in colour due to corrosion. When copper vessel is exposed to air in rainy season, the metal reacts with gases and moisture and atmospheric gases to form a mixture of copper carbonate and copper hydroxide. This gives a green colour to the surface of copper metal.
Explanation:
When a copper vessel is exposed to moist air for a long time it develops a green layer on its surface. Copper corrodes by oxidation in which it reacts with oxygen in the air to form copper oxide.
Copper oxide then combines with carbon dioxide to make copper carbonate, which gives it a green colour. This process is called corrosion of copper.
The green material is a mixture of copper hydroxide (Cu(OH)2) and copper carbonate (CuCO3). The following is the reaction:
2Cu(s)+H2O(g)+CO2+O2→Cu(OH)2+CuCO3(s)