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Introduction to electrolysis

Explore the world of electrochemistry with this detailed comparison of voltaic and electrolytic cells. Understand how spontaneous redox reactions in voltaic cells produce electric current, while electrolytic cells use electric current to drive non-spontaneous reactions. Learn the key differences in electrode signs and how to identify anodes and cathodes in each cell type. Created by Jay.

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  • piceratops seed style avatar for user aaqibasfar
    what is the definition foe electrolysis
    (8 votes)
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  • leaf blue style avatar for user Rebeccatongtong15
    Question for electrolytic cell:
    Isn't the direction of current is opposite to the direction of the moving of electrons? In the electrolytic cell, the electrons are moving to the left, then why is the current direction from positive to negative is to the left?
    (16 votes)
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    • duskpin seedling style avatar for user GhostBoy
      That's the battery terminals. In reality, the battery terminals are opposite the actual charge. So the negative terminal is the site of a redox reaction. So the electron flows from the positive to negative terminal, or from the site of oxidation to the site of reduction.
      (1 vote)
  • piceratops seed style avatar for user abeehaimran47
    why the zn is anode in galvanic cell and cathode in electrolytic cell? while still having same charges .
    (11 votes)
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  • mr pink red style avatar for user sarahammarsaad
    I am kind of confused over here. I take the IGCSE and in my book anodes are positive so help me out , please?
    (9 votes)
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  • primosaur seedling style avatar for user Zoya Rana
    Does temperature affect the AMOUNT of mass electroplated?
    (6 votes)
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  • leaf green style avatar for user hlinee
    How does the system "know" that one cell has a higher concentration than the other?
    (4 votes)
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    • aqualine tree style avatar for user Don Zhu
      Well, the system doesn't 'know' as in can measure and react as if it was alive per se... It has to do with how our universe works. When you fart in one corner of the room, the molecules of fart will spread until the room has an even distribution. If you pour water into one side of a glass, it will spread out till its level. If you dump a clump of sugar into your coffee, the sugar will dissolve and make the coffee sweet over time without stirring (we stir because its faster).

      The concentration cell works on the same purpose. If we have one side a lot more concentrated than the other and we allow the sides to be connected, a current will flow and salts will cross the salt bridge till both sides are the same concentration. Its because of the law of entropy. When we have one side more concentrated than the other, its 'ordered' and given the chance, it will become less ordered.

      Hope this helps!
      (6 votes)
  • blobby green style avatar for user Joseph Carneglia
    How does writing shorthand notation change when you have an electrolytic cell instead of a voltaic cell?
    (5 votes)
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  • starky sapling style avatar for user DanielFokChunHoe
    How do we decide what we put in the salt bridge?? Do the chemicals inside the salt bridge matter?
    (4 votes)
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  • orange juice squid orange style avatar for user anjali.dewdrop
    Question on Electrolysis of Water:
    H+ is discharged at the cathode and OH- is discharged at the anode, meaning the pH changes at both electrodes. If there is a salt bridge in this electrolytic reaction as shown in the video, would there still be a change in pH or would the salt bridge allow the solutions to mix and neutralize?

    Question on Electrodes:
    In the video we used copper and zinc. Could you use both copper electrodes?
    (4 votes)
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  • leafers seed style avatar for user Tobias Rob Kolnes
    If you have an solution of I- and Cl- (in water), which one will be oxidized of the two?
    I know this:
    2H2O(l) + 2e- --> H2(g) + 2OH- (aq) E = - 0.83V
    2Cl- (aq) --> 2e- + Cl2 (g) E = - 1.36V
    2I- (aq) --> 2e- + I2(aq) E = - 0.54V

    The reaction with iodine and water demands the least voltage and I would imagine thats the reaction that would happen, however when I tried myself I got the distinct smell of chlorine, and not the brownish colour of I2
    My question is essentially:

    How do I know (in general) which one is oxidized and reduced when there are multiple possibilities.
    (3 votes)
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Video transcript

- [Voiceover] Before we get into electrolysis, let's review the structure of a voltaic cell so we can compare it to an electrolytic cell. So a voltaic cell uses a spontaneous redox reaction to produce an electric current. So if we started our zinc electrode, solid zinc turns into zinc two plus ions. So solid zinc turns into zinc two plus ions. An atom of zinc would have to lose two electrons to turn into zinc two plus. So loss of electrons is oxidation. And oxidation is occurring at our zinc electrode. So the zinc electrode must be our anode. Remember oxidation occurs at the anode. And you can remember that by an ox. The zinc electrode is our source of electrons. So this is our negative electrode, and those electrons move in our wire to produce an electric current. When those two electrons reach our copper electrode, we know we have copper two plus ions in solution. So copper two plus ions in solution, and when those copper two plus ions gain those two electrons, copper two plus turns into solid copper. So copper forms at our copper electrode here. So this is reduction. Gain of electrons is reduction. So reduction is occurring at our copper electrode, making this the cathode. Remember red cat. Red cat is how to remember that one. So the copper electrode must be our positive electrode. This reaction is spontaneous. The standard cell potential, E zero, is positive 1.10 volts. Remember a positive value for your cell potential means a spontaneous reaction. So we produce an electric current. Let's compare that voltaic cell to an electrolytic cell, so on the right. An electrolytic cell uses an electric current to drive a nonspontaneous redox reaction. So if we look at the overall reaction here, we're starting with solid copper and zinc two plus ions in solution. And we're going to copper two plus ions in solution and solid zinc. So this is the reverse of the reaction we just talked about. The reactants for this reaction were the products for this reaction. To find the standard cell potential, all we have to do is take the negative of this cell potential, because we just reversed the reaction. So if we reverse the reaction, we just change the sign. So the cell potential, the standard cell potential, would be negative 1.10 volts. A negative value for your cell potential means a non-spontaneous redox reaction. So this doesn't occur on its own. Solid copper doesn't just turn into copper two plus and zinc two plus doesn't turn into solid zinc. It needs some help in order to do that. It needs an external voltage source, like a battery, to drive this reaction and force it to happen. So we need a battery here. Let's put in a battery in our little circuit. So we have a battery. We need the negative terminal to be on the left side and the positive terminal to be on the right side. So this is our voltage source. And we need at least 1.10 volts to force this reaction to occur. And in practice, it turns out to be more than 1.10 volts. So our negative terminal of the battery is where we get electrons. So electrons come out of the negative terminal of the battery and deliver electrons to the zinc electrode. So electrons are forced onto the zinc electrodes. Let me draw on here two electrons. And now we have two zinc plus ions in solution. Those zinc two plus ions have an opportunity to be reduced. If those zinc two plus ions gain those two electrons, zinc two plus gains two electrons and turns into solid zinc. So solid zinc forms. Solid zinc forms on our zinc electrode. So zinc two plus gaining two electrons to form solid zinc is reduction. Gain of electrons is reduction. So this time reduction is occurring at our zinc electrode and reduction occurs at the cathode. So the zinc electrode is our cathode. So once again, red cat. The zinc electrode is more negative. So we've had electrons forced onto the zinc electrode. That makes this our negative electrode. The battery is pulling electrons away from the copper electrode. So the copper electrode is losing electrons. Electrons are going toward the battery here. So electrons are going toward the positive terminal of the battery. That makes the copper electrode relatively positive. So this is our positive electrode. And this is the site, this must be the site of oxidation. So solid copper turns into copper two plus ions. Solid copper turns into copper two plus ions. So we have solid copper turning into Cu two plus. And so we're losing two electrons in order to do that. So solid copper turns into copper two plus, we lose two electrons. Loss of electrons is oxidation. So oxidation occurs at our copper electrode this time and that makes this the anode. Because oxidation occurs at the anode. So an ox. So the copper electrode loses mass over time. So you can see the difference between a voltaic cell and an electrolytic cell. So a voltaic cell created a current, because we had a spontaneous redox reaction. But for an electrolytic cell, we had a non-spontaneous redox reaction. So to get it to occur we needed a current. We needed an external voltage source. Let's point out that the fact that the signs are, the signs of the electrodes are opposite for voltaic and electrolytic cells. For example, let me use a different color over here, we can see that the anode was the zinc electrode and this was our negative electrode here. And that's because the zinc electrode was our source of electrons. So this makes that our negative electrode. But over here, the negative electrode is our cathode. Because electrons are forced on it by the battery. So the signs of the electrodes are opposite for voltaic and electrolytic cells. Notice for an electrolytic cell, for an electrolytic cell the negative electrode matches up with the negative terminal of the battery. And the positive electrode matches up with the positive terminal of the battery. So that's a good way to remember which electrodes are which in an electrolytic cell. Just look at the battery and you can figure it out.