The utilization of the principles in Hittorf’s method produced the equation below:

∆ nR (Cu2+) = ¿ ¿ = ¿¿ Eq. (4)

∆ nR ( NO−¿¿
3 ) = ¿¿ Eq. (5)

where ∆ nR refers to the number of moles of either Cu2+ or NO 3 that enter the right
−¿¿

compartment, Q is the total charge flow, and F is Faraday’s constant. t +¿¿ and t −¿¿ can be
calculated upon obtaining ∆ nR and Q.

Transference number or transport number is defined as the fraction of the total current brought by
the ionic (the positive t+, and negative ions t-) species in an electrolyte 1, and also indicates how fast
or slow the mobility of the ions are also shown in equation 1.
or (1) i i t    i i t   
The movement of ions in a cell is due to the accumulation of charges either positive or negative from
anode to cathode. The speed through which ions are shifted in a solution is called the Ionic mobility,
this is more formally expressed as the limiting velocity of an anion pertaining to the direction of an
electric field of unit strength.1 In this case, since ionic mobility is proportional to the molar mobility
it is also proportional to the charge and concentration of the ion. Through experimentation, the
acquired quantity would be the conductivity denoted by (λ) and as for the theoretical quantity, this
would be expressed as the ionic mobility denoted by the letter (u), individually, they may be applied
to express the transference numbers as shown in equation 2.
In molar conductivity:
(2)
Although the calculation of transport numbers can be determined through various integral methods
the most common methods used are the emf method, the Hittorf’s method, and the moving boundary
method.2 For this experiment the Hittorf’s method was applied. This method has long been known to
be the most common method used to calculate the transference number. 2 It involves the observation
of the mobility of the ions during electrolysis and the determination of the change in the composition
of an electrolytic solution in both electrodes.
In the process of electrolysis there should be a proportional relationship with the concentration loss in
an electrode to the mobility of the ion moving away from it. This means that as the cations are
moving, the quantity of both positive and negative charges that are discharged should be equal. 3
Through this method, the transference number is obtained by titrating the solutions within the anode
and cathode sections against the central section which then serves as a reference.
The objectives of this experiment is to be able to determine the transport numbers of both
hydrogen and nitrate ions and also to relate the transport number with ionic size and mobility.