Electrolytic Cells And Electrolysis

Electrolytic Cells and Faraday's Laws

Unlike a galvanic cell that produces electricity from spontaneous reactions, an electrolytic cell uses an external voltage source to force a non-spontaneous chemical reaction to occur.

This process is called electrolysis and is widely used to purify metals (like Copper) or extract highly reactive metals (like Sodium or Aluminum) from their molten salts.

Problem.

A solution of $CuSO_4$ is electrolysed for 10 minutes with a current of 1.5 amperes. What is the mass of copper deposited at the cathode?

Given:

• Current ($I$) = 1.5 A
• Time ($t$) = 10 minutes

Predicting Products of Electrolysis

When multiple species are present in an electrolytic cell (like in an aqueous solution where water is present alongside dissolved ions), they compete at the electrodes.

The product formed depends on their standard electrode potentials ($E^\circ$).