Questions tagged [electrolysis]
For questions about the chemical concepts of electrolysis.
510
questions
-1
votes
0answers
28 views
Simultaneous electrolysis on applying a suitable amount of potential difference
This question was asked in the JEE in 2020:
$\pu{250 mL}$ of a waste solution obtained from the workshop of a goldsmith contains $\pu{0.1 M}$ $\ce{AgNO3}$ and $\pu{0.1 M}$ $\ce{AuCl}.$ The solution ...
0
votes
0answers
33 views
Zn galvanic cell without electrolyte?
I performed a classical experiment with Zinc-Copper galvanic cell. The zinc electrode was made from pure zinc wire, the copper electrode was made from pure copper wire, the container was a glass ...
-4
votes
0answers
18 views
Electrolysis of KOH to isolate Potassium [closed]
I have recently learned that Humphry Davy first isolated K from KOH using electrolysis.
I have a few questions about this that I haven't found an answer to.
Is the solution pure KOH melted down or is ...
-3
votes
0answers
38 views
Can I revived the lead dioxide brittle plate in Car Battery? [closed]
When I open my car acid battery, I noticed that the lead dioxide (+) plate to be very brittle and somehow distorted very badly whereas the lead plate (-) is completely perfect. May I know if this lead ...
0
votes
1answer
45 views
Hydrogen safety during electro-chemical machining
I'm interested in doing some experiments with electro-chemical machining in my shop. The process involves running electricity through an electrolyte (salt water) to break down a metal anode (aluminum/...
-3
votes
2answers
51 views
Will electrolysis of molten sodium hypochlorite work [closed]
I have an anhydrous mixture of sodium hypochlorite and sodium chlorate that was obtained by boiling bleach. If I were to melt this mixture and perform electrolysis on it, would sodium metal be ...
0
votes
1answer
27 views
Why does temperature increase rate of electrolysis even though resistivity of electrodes increase?
My experiment is just the electrolysis of iron rust at different temperatures. It consists of a rusted iron cathode and an iron anode in a salt water solution. From my data, there is an approximately ...
0
votes
1answer
63 views
Suppressing flammable foam formation in electrolysis
I often use electrolysis to remove rust and other junk off of steel parts. My general setup is:
Electrolyte: Sodium bicarbonate + distilled water.
Anode: Plain carbon steel
Cathode: Carbon steel, ...
1
vote
1answer
46 views
what are the differences between reversible cells and rechargeable cells?
My chemistry textbook says daniel cells are reversible, but not rechargeable.
Why is it that all reversible cells are not rechargeable?
Are all rechargeable cells reversible? why/why not?
1
vote
1answer
72 views
what happens to the electrons in low-voltage conductivity of salt water [closed]
Suppose you take a 100 millivolt voltage source, and connect it using a pair of copper wires to a bath of salt water.
A current will flow through the water. If I'm not getting things completely wrong, ...
-1
votes
1answer
36 views
How can one change the color of Iron Oxide by changing the composition or hydration?
How does the color of rust change depending on its makeup and state, or more to the point, how would one put the rust into that state?
For example, Wikipedia shows Iron(III) Oxide as being red in the ...
1
vote
0answers
38 views
Hydrochloric acid from diaphragm electrolysis
I have a diaphragm electrolysis cell, which is made up of an outer container containing the cathode and a small terra cotta pot containing the anode. If sodium chloride solution is placed in the outer ...
1
vote
0answers
34 views
Converting dissolved chromates to solids for disposal
I have 4 liters of electrolysis waste that was used to process stainless steel cathodes.
About half of it was oxalic acid based and the other half was sodium bicarbonate based (currently stored ...
0
votes
1answer
47 views
What happens in an electrolytic cell when the cations are different from the metal of the anode?
Suppose we have an electrolytic cell with copper(II) sulphate solution as the electrolyte, and lead metal as the electrodes.
Will lead ions be discharged from the anode into the solution? What will be ...
3
votes
0answers
92 views
Understanding electrolysis w/ oxalic acid electrolyte, iron electrodes
I've been experimenting with electrolysis for rust removal, electroplating, de-plating, etc. Right now I have a rust removal setup with carbon steel electrodes and a solution of oxalic acid in ...
0
votes
0answers
18 views
Linearity of membrane resistance and contact resistance overvoltages in proton-exchange-membrane-water-elektrolyzer-cells (PEM-WE)
I am questioning why the cell component's resistance to the electrons (contact resistance) and protons (membrane resistance) flow follow the ohmic law. This assumption is made in recent papers on PEM-...
10
votes
1answer
567 views
Tin(II) chloride electrolysis problems: (1) Why is the tin dendritic? (2) Why does the unconnected metal in the middle also act like an electrode?
I'm watching this tin(II) chloride electrolysis video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coPGazAaVBE&ab_channel=FlinnScientific
Two phenomenon puzzled me, and I couldn't find a good explanation on ...
-1
votes
1answer
55 views
Why doesn't NaCl work for electrolysis? [closed]
So I found out online that to increase the conductivity of water for electrolysis, NaCl or NaOH is used.
However, upon using a low amount of NaCl in water and passing 12V through the solution, I ...
0
votes
1answer
60 views
Hydrated electrons produced by radiation vs electrons from electrostatic charge: are they equally reactive?
One of the species generated in water or aqueous solutions by the ionizing radiations are free electrons that quickly become "hydrated" or "aqueous electrons" (see for example this ...
0
votes
0answers
29 views
Is zinc chloride a viable substitute for zinc cyanide in brass plating processes?
I am owner/operator of a small plating company in Pittsburgh, Pa. I am having a problem with reddish color in brass plating process. Obvious cause is low zinc content in brass plating bath. Our ...
2
votes
0answers
16 views
Is there a difference in electrolsys rate limiting effects between electrodes of different area if one reverses the electrical polarity?
If one has two concentric stainless steel tubes with the small one being 1/2 the circumference and inside the other, and KOH for the electrolyte, then given the different surface areas between the ...
0
votes
0answers
34 views
Copper powder from aqueous copper sulfate solution help
I’ve been wanting to make copper powder for some homemade pyrotechnics. When placing an iron object in a copper sulfate solution, copper powder is produced. However, sooner or later, the reaction ...
2
votes
0answers
35 views
Do decomposition potentials change during electrolysis?
I was just wondering if decomposition potentials actually change during electrolysis. For example, if we reversed the Daniell cell reaction so that copper is oxidized, the half cell reactions would be:...
2
votes
1answer
66 views
Stannous chloride is not dissolving into water
I am trying pcb tin plating. I am following a formula that uses
50ml water
2gm sulfamic acid
0.5gm stannous chloride
3gm thiouria
50ml water
The problem is, my Tin(II) chloride is not dissolving. It ...
1
vote
0answers
28 views
Optimal voltage for electrolysis [closed]
Reading Wikipedia for electrolysis, it provides the information that a potential of 1.23V is required to electrolyze water. How was that calculated? My intuition tells me that it is the sum of the ...
0
votes
1answer
71 views
Can there be a gas-phase electrolyte?
Reading the first paragraph in Wikipedia's I found one sentence particularly interesting:
Some gases, such as hydrogen chloride ($\ce{HCl}$), under conditions of high temperature or low pressure can ...
0
votes
0answers
78 views
Electrolysis Rust Removal and hexavalent chromium
I know not to use stainless steel as the anode due to the oxidation process which can cause the production of hexavalent chromium (a very toxic and hard to dispose of material).
In the electrolysis ...
1
vote
0answers
36 views
How do I anodize bronze for thin film colors using electrolysis?
I am trying to change the color of the coins we have in Europe. I want to create patterns of certain colors.
They are made from "nordic gold" (89% copper, 5% aluminum, 5% zinc, and 1% tin).
...
-1
votes
1answer
101 views
Why same metal salt is required in electrolytic refining?
Why we use same metal salt in electrolytic refining?
Ex. For $\ce{Cu^2+}$ if we take suppose $\ce{FeSO4}$ so there are 2 ions ready to react on cathode ie $\ce{Fe^2+}$ and $\ce{Cu^2+}$.
But from a ...
1
vote
0answers
39 views
What is a suitable material for a cathode in electroplating experiment?
I am going to do an electroplating experiment, whereby I will be using a Cu(NO3)2 solution to plate onto a cathode.
What is an easily accessible cathode which I can use for this? Would a strip of Ag (...
-1
votes
1answer
73 views
How is it possible to electroplate using an Al3+ solution, when water is a stronger oxidant?
Suppose that I wanted to electroplate Al(s) onto a Cu(s) Cathode, (using an Aluminium Nitrate solution and Al(s) anode).
At standard conditions, Al(s) is the strongest reducing agent, which is good. ...
-2
votes
1answer
49 views
What determines the product at the anode/cathode of a electrolytic cell with an aqueous solution?
If you perform electrolysis on Aqueous Sodium Chloride of various concentrations, how does the product at the anode change but the product at the cathode does not?
What is the mechanism behind this ...
7
votes
1answer
353 views
Homemade diode working mechanism
Hello,
I will list the questions directly, if you want to know details please read below.
As in the figure, we have water+baking soda in a plastic cup, there are 2 versions in figure that affects LED'...
0
votes
0answers
24 views
How are ions transported in solid state electrolytes?
Consider an inorganic solid state electrolyte in a solid state Li-on battery. It being solid means that the atoms or ions that make up the solid itself are not mobile. Then how do the ions move ...
2
votes
2answers
204 views
What an electrolyte "really" does in electrolysis?
I am reading about electrolysis and I have trouble to understand why an electrolyte must be added in order for electrolysis to occur. I have read this question but still can't get it. The definition ...
-1
votes
2answers
61 views
Why would electrode be positively charged in electrolysis?
From my understanding, a battery provides a driving force to pull electrons from the anode, thus the anode becomes positively charged.
Suppose the anode is copper, the process should be as follows:
$\...
0
votes
1answer
682 views
Volume of Oxygen Produced By Electrolysis of Water [closed]
I am trying to estimate the volume of oxygen that will be produced by electrolysis of water at normal temperature and pressure with a current of $\pu{50 A}$. The following is my calculation:
The ...
0
votes
0answers
47 views
What are the gaseous outputs of electrolysis of Water along with NaOH or KOH?
Theoretically electrolysis of water yields Hydrogen and Oxygen in gaseous form.
But to enhance conductivity we have to add an electrolyte like $\ce{NaOH}$ or $\ce{KOH}$.
Does this produce any other ...
0
votes
0answers
38 views
is electrolysis of water less efficient with warm water? E.g 40, 50, 60... °C
I see there is High-temperature electrolysis which is a whole different animal than room temp electrolysis.
I want to know if electrolysis of lukewarm water will behave much differently. My guess is ...
4
votes
0answers
85 views
Electrolysis for rust removal: is "line of sight" a showstopper?
So I am using electrolysis to remove rust from a fuel tank. The tank is the cathode and a sacrificial anode is inserted where the fuel pump normally goes. It's not practical to put it anywhere else.
...
0
votes
0answers
29 views
Electrolysis in Electrophoresis of proteins and DNA
Can electrolysis happen in an electrophoresis assay (such as SDS-PAGE)?
To perform electrophoresis, the substances must be dissolved in an aquatic buffer with a previously determined ionic strength. ...
0
votes
1answer
82 views
Which Half-Reaction to Use? [closed]
I was hoping for some help with choosing half-reactions for an electrolytic cell. This was the problem that sparked the question (Question #6 from the 2020 USNCO Part II):
The correct answer is
$$2\...
2
votes
2answers
51 views
How can I get big bubbles when I electrolyse water with detergent?
I've made carbon electrodes by putting 12V through a couple of short 15Ω pencils, but when I try to make hydrogen and oxygen bubbles from soapy water, I get tiny bubbles, smaller than table salt.
If I ...
0
votes
1answer
100 views
Finding the charge passed in electrolysis of water using volume of hydrogen released [closed]
During the electrolysis of water we have gotten $\pu{10 dm3}$ of hydrogen. Temperature was $\pu{0 °C}$ and pressure was $\pu{101325 Pa}$.
What charge has passed trough the electrolysis article/joint?
...
-1
votes
1answer
81 views
Electrolysis of water using different kind of electrode and electrolyte safest as possible for splitting demonstration
I am planning to electrolyze water for an experiment. However, I have limited resources and want to do it as safely as possible
The resources that I have:
$\pu{12 V}$ DC battery
Graphite (in the ...
1
vote
1answer
143 views
Copper plating with electrolyte not working (Cu(OH)2 vs CuSO4)
I've been experimenting using electroplating, and I recently made a solution by placing two copper pieces connected to a voltage source, in water. I suspect that this created copper(II) hydroxide, as ...
2
votes
2answers
157 views
Are we technically reducing electrodes/wires for the instant that an electron passes through them?
In lecture I was taught that, in a galvanic cell at standard conditions, platinum is often used as an inert electrode when the species being oxidized or reduced exists only in solution, because ...
1
vote
2answers
60 views
How to run electrochemical tests on Microorganism (bacteria in a medium)?
I am trying to run some electrochemical tests(e.g.CV (Cyclic Voltammetry) & EIS (electrical impedance spectroscopy)) using half cell configuration on micro-organisms (e.g.bacteria). The bacteria ...
2
votes
1answer
33 views
Would ionic conduction be halted by shielding at the electrodes?
I've done this experiment myself and seen it front of my eyes. Set up a basic circuit with a battery, an LED, and connect the circuit with a salt-water solution and copper wire. The LED lights up.
If ...
3
votes
0answers
104 views
How can platinum function as an "inert electrode" while having a standard reduction potential of 1.2 from its 2+ oxidation state?
In lecture I was taught that, in a galvanic cell at standard conditions, platinum is often used as an inert electrode when the species being oxidized or reduced exists only in solution, because ...