![]() ![]() Ions in aqueous solutions can undergo similar reactions. The electrolysis of sodium and potassium hydroxides, first carried out in 1808 by Sir Humphrey Davey, led to the discovery of these two metallic elements and showed that these two hydroxides which had previously been considered un-decomposable and thus elements, were in fact compounds.Įlectrolysis of molten alkali halides is the usual industrial method of preparing the alkali metals: Na + + e – → Na (l) The largest of these are the chloralkali industry (chlorine and "caustic"), and the refining of aluminum the latter consumes approximately 5% of the electrical power generated in North America.Įlectrolysis refers to the decomposition of a substance by an electric current. A large number of electrolysis processes are employed by industry to refine metals and to produce both inorganic and organic products.Thus an attempt to electrolyze a solution of NaNO 3 will produce only H 2 and O 2. When an aqueous solution is subjected to electrolysis, the oxidation or reduction of water can be a competing process and may dominate if the applied voltage is sufficiently great.Ionic transport in the greater part of the electrolyte is by ordinary thermal diffusion- the statistical tendency of concentrations to become uniform. Transport of ions in the electrolyte in response to the potential difference between the electrodes ("drift") is largely restricted to the regions very close to the electrodes. ![]() In practice, the products of electrolysis are usually simpler than the reactants, hence the term electro- lysis. An electrolytic cell is in this sense the opposite of a galvanic cell. In electrolysis, an external power source supplies the free energy required to drive a cell reaction in its non-spontaneous direction.Make sure you thoroughly understand the following essential ideas.
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