ELECTRICITY AND CHEMISTRY(ELECTROLYSIS

Key Terms
Simple Electrolytic Set Up

Molten Lead Bromide is the electrolyte

What Happens during Electrolysis?
Eg: Electrolysis of Molten Lead Bromide
Writing half equations for reactions at electrodes

REMEMBER:
CNAP-(Cathode Negative Anode Positive)
OAA RAC-(Oxidation At Anode Reduction At Cathode)
Principle

Examples
Applications of electrolysis

1. Electrolysis of Brine
USES OF THE PRODUCTS:
2. Refining of metals(copper)
3 .Electroplating
Electroplating is another electrolytic process that can be carried out in a school
laboratory or on a large scale. Electroplating means coating an object with a thinlayer
of a metal. The purpose is

• To improve appearance
• To prevent corrosion, e.g. rusting.
For example, steel car bumpers are coated with chromium. Steel cans are coated with
tin to make tins for food, and cheap metal jewellery is often coated with silver.

ELECTROPLATING A STEEL JUG WITH SILVER

 4. Extraction of Aluminium
Aluminium is extracted from bauxite which is impure aluminium oxide, Al 2O 3.
Bauxite is first purified and then electrolysis is carried out. This is expensive due to
the high cost of electricity. Aluminium oxide has a melting point of 2017 °C which
would require a large amount of heat energy to achieve and therefore would further
increase costs. Instead, the aluminium oxide is dissolved in another aluminium
compound, molten cryolite, Na 3 Al F 6.

Aluminium oxide in molten cryolite behaves in the same way as molten aluminium oxide
as far as the products of electrolysis are concerned. Electrolysis is carried out in a steel
tank using carbon (graphite) electrodes. The anodes are carbon (graphite) blocks that
are lowered into the electrolyte. The cathode is the carbon (graphite) lining of the tank.
The electrode reactions are
Molten aluminium collects at the bottom of the tank and is siphoned off. The oxygen that
is produced at the anode reacts, at the high temperature of the cell, with the graphite
anodes producing carbon dioxide gas which escapes.

Thus the anodes burn away and have to be replaced regularly. The high cost of
electricity is the largest expense for this process, which is carried out in regions where
cheap electricity, e.g. from hydro-electric power, is available.

Uses