What is the construction and working of dropping mercury electrode
Answers
The dropping mercury electrode is a working electrode which is made of mercury. It is used in polarography. It is used in electrochemical studies using three electrode systems while investigating reaction mechanisms related to redox chemistry.
In a dropping mercury electrode mercury flows through an insulating capillary and produces a droplet. The droplet grows from the end of the capillary in a reproducible manner. It keeps growing and is released when it has a diameter of about one millimeter. The released droplet does not have any contact with the working electrode. As soon as a drop is released another one is formed. The drops are produced at a rate of around 0.2 Hz.
When the electrode is used mercury collects in the bottom of the cell. This mercury pool is connected to a lead and used as the cell's auxiliary electrode in some cell designs.
Defin working of Dropping mercury electrode