Homework reminder for 11a1 - C3 paper due Tuesday. If you need a new one collect a spare from 209 on Monday.
Saturday, 28 February 2015
Friday, 27 February 2015
Coursework Catch up
Next coursework catch-up session Tuesday from 2.40pm to 3.30pm
Electrolysis Revision
Electrolysis
Electrolytes
are ionic substances that are molten (melted) or dissolved in water.
During
electrolysis, positively charged cations migrate to the negatively charged
cathode and negatively charged anions migrate to the positively charged anode.
Oxidation
means loss of electrons and reduction means gain of electrons.
Reduction
occurs at the cathode and oxidation occurs at the anode.
A half
equation shows the reaction at one electrode only. Electrons are shown by ‘e-’.
For example:
Cu2+
+ 2e- à Cu
The full
equation for the electrolysis of molten
sodium chloride is NaCl à
Na + Cl2
The half
equations are:
At the cathode: Na+ + e-
à Na
At the anode: 2Cl- à Cl2 + 2e-
The
electrolysis of solutions can give
products from ions in water rather than from ions in the dissolved solid. We
can predict the products of electrolysis using the following rules.
At the
cathode:
·
If the metal is low in the reactivity series
(e.g. copper, silver, lead), the metal is deposited on the cathode.
·
If the metal is high in the reactivity series
(e.g. sodium, potassium), then hydrogen is given off.
At the
anode:
·
If the non-metal in the sale is a halide ion
(e.g. chloride, bromide, iodide), then the halogen (e.g. chlorine gas) is
released.
·
If the non-metal is not a halogen, oxygen from
the water is given off.
Sodium
chloride solution is sodium chloride dissolved in water. The electrolysis of
sodium chloride solution is: NaCl +
2H2O à
NaOH + Cl2 + H2.
In this
case, hydrogen gas is formed at the cathode from the water instead of sodium.
This is because hydrogen more easily gains an electron than sodium. Chlorine
gas is formed at the anode. Na+ and OH- ions are left in
the water, and this means the solution is NaOH (sodium hydroxide).
Sodium and
chlorine are both useful. Sodium is used in street lamps and as a coolant in
some nuclear reactors. Chlorine is a toxic gas that can be used in
disinfectants.
Write half
equations for the electrolysis reactions for these ionic substances:
1.
Copper chloride solution CuCl2
2.
Copper sulphate solution CuSO4
3.
Sodium sulphate solution Na2SO4
4.
Molten lead bromide PbBr2
Electrolysis
is used for electroplating metals (adding a thin coating of one metal on the
surface of another). This is useful because it can improve resistance to
corrosion and improve the appearance of the metal.
Copper can
be purified by electrolysis: the copper ions from the impure anode dissolve in
the water and impurities sink to the bottom. The copper ions migrate to the
pure copper cathode, so increasing its mass.
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