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Electrolysis

The document discusses electrolysis and electrochemical series. Electrolysis is the breakdown of an ionic compound by electricity, with cations forming at the cathode and anions at the anode. The document provides examples of electrolysis of molten and aqueous sodium chloride, hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid and copper sulfate.

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38 views3 pages

Electrolysis

The document discusses electrolysis and electrochemical series. Electrolysis is the breakdown of an ionic compound by electricity, with cations forming at the cathode and anions at the anode. The document provides examples of electrolysis of molten and aqueous sodium chloride, hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid and copper sulfate.

Uploaded by

Research Life
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Electricity and chemistry

Electrolysis is the breakdown of an ionic compound (molten or aqueous solution) by the passage of
electricity.

Reactions at the cathode or anode

Cations accepted electrons from the cathode, and therefore metals and hydrogen are formed at the
cathode.

Negative ions (non-metals except hydrogen) are attracted to the anode.

*( the anode is inert (i.e. carbon or platinum) the negative ions lose electrons to the anode. If the anode
is not inert (i.e. silver, copper, or other reactive metals) the metal atoms of the anode lose electrons and
form positive ions. The anode will therefore dissolve and become smaller.

Electrolyte

The electrolyte can either be molten or aqueous.

A molten substance means that the substance has been melted down. The ions therefore come only
from the substance itself.

An aqueous solution means that the substance is dissolved in water. The water molecules themselves
can ionize so you will always find hydrogen and hydroxide ions in addition to the ions from the solute.

Electrochemical series

The electrochemical series tells us which ions discharge easier than others. The lower ion of each series

will be the one to get discharged


To find out about the electrolysis of the given compound we need to

1st find the ions percent

2nd figure out reactions at cathod and anod reactions (from the eletrochemical series).

3rd is to figure out what remains inside the final electrolyte.

Example

Molten sodium chloride (inert electrodes)

Ions present:

Reactions in electrodes:

Sodium chloride is therefore decomposed

Concentrated aqueous sodium chloride (inert electrodes)

Ions present:

Reactions in electrodes:

Na+ and OH- remain in the electrolyte (which is sodium hydroxide)

*If the solution was dilute, then OH- would get discharged instead of the Cl-. This means Na+ and Cl-
would remain in the electrolyte and the solution will become more and more concentrated (as water is
used up).

Concentrated hydrochloric acic (inert electrodes)

Ions present:

Reactions in electrodes:

Acid therefore gets used up in the electrolyte

Dilute sulfuric acid (inert electrodes)

Ions present:

Reactions in electrodes:
Acid gets more concentrated as water gets used up

Aqueous copper (II) soleplate (Inert electrodes)

Ions present:

Reactions in electrodes:

H+ and SO4 ions remain in the solution (which is sulfuric acid)

Aqueous copper (II) sulphate (copper electrodes)

Ions present:

Reactions in electrodes:

The only difference is that the anode is not inert. This means that the metal anode itself will react by
losing electrons to form ions.

Copper deposited at the cathode becomes thicker. Copper is removed at the anode and it gets thinner.
The electrolyte remains the same since one electrode produces copper ions whereas the other removes
them. This process is used to electroplate other metals with copper.

Metals can be refined or purified by electrolysis. The impure metal forms the anode, the cathode is a
small piece of pure metal and electrolyte is an aqueous metal salt. In the refining of copper, the
following reactions occur

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