Electrolysis Cheat Sheet

by fongrsy via cheatography.com/65383/cs/19663/

Defini​tions Electr​olysis - Change in Electr​olyte Selective Discharge (cont)

(NaCl)
Electr​olysis  The use of electr​icity to Inert Anodes: Anions will be discharged
break down or decompose a compound 1) Molten NaCl Reactive Anodes: Will dissolve and oxidise
(usually an ionic compound in molten or Ions Present - Na +, Cl- to form cations
aqueous state). At anode: 2Cl- (l)  Cl2 (g) + 2e-
Electr​olysis takes place in an elec​tro​lytic At cathode: Na+ (l) + e-  Na (l) Simple Cell
cell made of batteries, electrodes (an Cathode: Silvery globules of sodium Simple cells convert chemical potential
anode and a cathode) and an electr​olyte. Anode: Yellow​ish​-green chlorine gas energy into electrical energy. Electr​olysis
Anode  attracts anions evolved requires energy to occur while simple cells
Cathode  attracts cations 2) Dilute NaCl Solution generate energy (spont​aneous reaction).
Electr​olyte  The compound to be electr​‐ Ions Present: H +, Na+, OH-, Cl- Chemical Potential Energy  Electrical
olysed. At anode: 4OH - (aq)  2H2O (l) + O2 + 4e- Energy
At cathode: 2H+ (aq) + 2e-  H2 (g) For simple cells, the anode is negative
Main Concepts
Cathode: Hydrogen gas released while the cathode is positive. The
The electr​olyte is the compound that will be Anode: Oxygen gas is released electrodes are made of different reactive
broken down. 3) Concen​trated NaCl Solution metals at different positions in the metal
Cations are attracted to the cathode, where Ions present: H +, Na+, OH-, Cl- reactivity series. The pair of metals with the
they gain electrons. At anode: 2Cl- (aq)  Cl2 (g) + 2e- greatest p.d. is the pair that is the furthest
Anions are attracted to the anode, where At cathode: 2H+ (aq) + 2e-  H2 (g) apart in the metal reactivity series.
they lose electrons. Cathode: Hydrogen gas released The more reactive metal (higher in electr​‐
The process of losing a charge (whether it's Anode: Yellow​ish​-green chlorine gas och​emical series) will become the negative
positive or negative) is called disc​har​ge. released terminal. The atom of the reactive metal will
The transfer of electrons from the cathode lose electr​on(s) to form positive ions and
For solutions with more than 1
to the cation / anion to the anode discharges dissolve into the solution. Oxidation takes
cation​/anion, selective discharge will take
the ions, hence they do not recombine as place.
place.
they are now neutral. The electrons lost by the more reactive
metal are then moved to the other metal
If you forget the polarity of the electr​odes,
Ease of Ion Discharge plate through the wire. As a result, current is
don't PANIC.
produced (there is a potential differ​ence)
Hardest to Hardest to Po​sitive is Anode, Ne​gative Is Ca​thode.
and the ammeter / voltmeter deflects.
Discharge Discharge
The less reactive metal (lower in electr​och​‐
K+ SO42- Selective Discharge
emical series) will become the positive
Na+ NO3 - At the cathode, cation discharge is ONLY terminal. At the positive terminal, the
Ca2+ F- affected by the metal reactivity series. The positive ions in the solution (elect​rolyte) will
less reactive the metal, the easier it is to gain electrons (from the negative terminal)
Mg2+ Cl-
discharge, hence it will be discharged in and be discha​rged.
Zn2+ Br- preference to more reactive metals. If the positive ions are less reactive than
Fe2+ I- Inert Cathodes: Cations will be discharged hydrogen, a metal coating will be formed at
Reactive Cathodes: If anode is made of the the positive terminal.
Pb2+ OH-
same metal, a layer of metal coating will If the positive ions are more reactive than
H+
form on the cathode. hydrogen, efferv​escence (hydrogen gas) is
Cu2+ At the anode, anion discharge is affected by formed at the positive terminal.
Ag+ the concen​tration of the ion. Halogen ions
(Cl- / Br- / I-) are discharged in preference
Easiest to Discharge Easiest to Discharge
to OH - ions in concen​trated solutions.
SO42- and NO3- are not discharged and Sulfate ions and nitrate ions are NOT
remain in solutions discharged and will remain in solutions.

By fongrsy Published 20th May, 2019. Sponsored by CrosswordCheats.com

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 Electrolysis Cheat Sheet
by fongrsy via cheatography.com/65383/cs/19663/

Uses of Electr​olysis

1) Electr​olytic Purifi​cation
Metals can be purified by using an electr​olytic process. To purify the
metal, a piece of pure metal (e.g. copper) is placed as the negative
cathode, and the impure metal is placed as the positive anode. When
the electrical circuit is closed, only the pure metal would dissolve from
the anode (impure metal) to form metal ions, which are attracted to the
cathode where they are deposited as the pure metal.
2) Electr​opl​ating
Electr​opl​ating is the process of depositing a layer of metal on another
substance using electr​olysis. Uses of electr​opl​ating include decorative
finish, as well as to prevent rusting. The electr​olyte used contains the
cation of the metal to be plated. The anode is the metal to be used as
coating, and the cathode is the object to be plated.
3) Batteries
Batteries can be made from simple cells. A simple cell is a device that
converts chemical energy into electrical energy. It is also known as an
electric cell. It is made by placing two different metals in contact with
an electr​olyte. The metals act as electrodes for the simple cell.

By fongrsy Published 20th May, 2019. Sponsored by CrosswordCheats.com

cheatography.com/fongrsy/ Last updated 20th May, 2019. Learn to solve cryptic crosswords!
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