Two More Uses of Electrolysis: When Electrodes Are Not Inert

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Electricity and chemical change

8.5 Two more uses of electrolysis


When electrodes are not inert
A solution of copper(II) sulfate contains blue Cu2 1 ions, SO42 2 ions, and H 1
and OH 2 ions from water. Electrolysis of the solution will give different
results, depending on the electrodes. Compare these:

A  Using inert electrodes (carbon or platinum)


At the cathode  Copper ions are discharged:
2Cu2 1 (aq) 1 4e 2 2Cu (s)
The copper coats the electrode. +

At the anode  Oxygen bubbles off: electrodes


of carbon coating of
4OH 2 (aq) 2H2O (l) 1 O2 ( g) 1 4e 2 copper
bubbles of
So copper and oxygen are produced. This fits the rules on page 105. oxygen copper(II)
sulfate solution
The blue colour of the solution fades as the copper ions are discharged. blue colour fading

B  Using copper electrodes


At the cathode  Again, copper is formed, and coats the electrode:
Cu2 1 (aq) 1 2e 2 Cu (s)
At the anode  The anode dissolves, giving copper ions in solution: +

C
u (s) Cu2 1 (aq) 1 2e 2
copper copper cathode
So this time, the electrodes are not inert. The anode dissolves, giving anode grows larger
copper ions. These move to the cathode, to form copper. So copper dissolves
copper(II)
moves from the anode to the cathode. The colour of the solution does sulfate solution
not fade. blue colour does not fade

The idea in B leads to two important uses of electrolysis: for refining (or
purifying) copper, and for electroplating.

Refining copper
anode anode cathode
anode cathode cathode
(impure copper)
(impure copper) (impure (pure copper)
(pure copper)
copper) (pure copper)
+ + +– – +– + +– – +– + +– – –

sludge sludge sludge


containingcontaining containing
precious precious precious
metals metals metals

The anode is made of impure The copper in the anode dissolves. A layer of pure copper builds up
copper. The cathode is pure copper. But the impurities do not dissolve. on the cathode. When the anode is
The electrolyte is dilute copper(II) They just drop to the floor of the almost gone, the anode and
sulfate solution. cell as a sludge. cathode are replaced.
The copper deposited on the cathode is over 99.9% pure.
The sludge may contain valuable metals such as platinum, gold, silver, and
selenium. These are recovered and sold.
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Electricity and chemical change

  The purer it is, the better copper is at conducting electricity.   A steel tap plated with chromium, to make it look bright and
Highly refined copper is used for the electrics in cars. shiny. Chromium does not stick well to steel. So the steel is first
A car like this will contain more than 1 km of copper wiring. electroplated with copper or nickel, and then chromium.

Electroplating
Electroplating means using electricity to coat one metal with another, source of
electricity
to make it look better, or to prevent corrosion. 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.
The drawing on the right shows how to electroplate a steel jug with silver.
The jug is used as the cathode. The anode is made of silver. The electrolyte
is a solution of a soluble silver compound, such as silver nitrate. steel jug
+ as cathode –
At the anode  The silver dissolves, forming silver ions in solution:
Ag (s) Ag 1 (aq) 1 e 2 silver
anode
At the cathode  The silver ions are attracted to the cathode.
There they receive electrons, forming a coat of silver on the jug:
Ag 1 (aq) 1 e 2 Ag (s)
silver nitrate solution
When the layer of silver is thick enough, the jug is removed.
  Silverplating: electroplating with

To electroplate ! silver. When the electrodes are connected


to a power source, electroplating begins.
In general, to electroplate an object with metal X, the set-up is:
cathode – object to be electroplated
anode – metal X
electrolyte – a solution of a soluble compound of X.

Q
1 Copper(II) ions are blue. When copper(II) sulfate solution is 3 Describe the process of refining copper.
electrolysed, the blue solution: 4 What does electroplating mean?
a loses its colour when carbon electrodes are used 5 Steel cutlery is often electroplated with nickel. Why?
b keeps its colour when copper electrodes are used. 6 You plan to electroplate steel cutlery with nickel.
Explain each of these observations. a What will you use as the anode?
2 If you want to purify a metal by electrolysis, will you make it b What will you use as the cathode?
the anode or the cathode? Why? c Suggest a suitable electrolyte.

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