Reduction of Copper

Redox is the collective term used for reduction and oxidation. Copper can be neutral, have a 1+ or a 2+ charge. As copper reduces in charge, it becomes less polar and so less soluble in water. This is the premise behind how we precipitate copper from copper sulfate solution using precipitation and electrolysis reactions.

Precipitation

The electron configuration of copper means that it readily accepts electrons, and so is an oxidizing metal. Therefore, when copper ions are mixed with a reducing metal, they are reduced and neutralized into solid copper which precipitates it.

Figure 1: Precipitation of copper using the reducing metal, Zinc