Question

BRIEFLY describe the following processes:

The electrolysis of molten salts
The electrolysis of water
The electrolysis of an aqueous solution

Answer 1

1) Electrolysis of Molten salts (NaCl.) If sodium chloride is melted (above 801 °C), two electrodes are inserted intov the melt, and an electric current is passed through the molten salt, then chemical reactions take place at the electrodes. ... Chlorine gas bubbles out of the melt above the anode.

2) Electrolysis of water is the decomposition of water into oxygen and hydrogen gas due to the passage of an electric current. The reaction has a standard potential of −1.23 V, meaning it ideally requires a potential difference of 1.23 volts to split water.

3) Since water can be both oxidized and reduced, it competes with the dissolved Na+ and Cl– ions. ... At the cathode (C), water is reduced to hydroxide and hydrogen gas. The net process is the electrolysis of an aqueous solution of NaCl into industrially useful products sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and chlorine gas.