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The Downs cell uses a carbon anode and an iron cathode.The electrolyte is sodium chloride that has been heated to the liquid state. Although solid sodium chloride is a poor conductor of electricity, when molten the sodium and chloride ions are mobilized, which become charge carriers and allow conduction of electric current.
Molten salt is salt which is solid at standard temperature and pressure but liquified due to elevated temperature. A salt that is liquid even at standard temperature and pressure is usually called a room-temperature ionic liquid , and molten salts are technically a class of ionic liquids.
Molten salts can also be electrolytes as, for example, when sodium chloride is molten, the liquid conducts electricity. In particular, ionic liquids, which are molten salts with melting points below 100 °C, [15] are a type of highly conductive non-aqueous electrolytes and thus have found more and more applications in fuel cells and batteries. [16]
Strong electrolytes conduct electricity only in aqueous solutions, or in molten salt, and ionic liquid. Strong electrolytes break apart into ions completely. The strength of an electrolyte does not affect the open circuit voltage produced by a galvanic cell. But when electric current flows, stronger electrolytes result in smaller voltage losses ...
When the salts are dissolved in a liquid or are melted into a liquid, they can conduct electricity because the ions become completely mobile. For this reason, molten salts and solutions containing dissolved salts (e.g., sodium chloride in water) can be used as electrolytes. [75]
In molten sodium chloride (NaCl), when a current is passed through the salt the anode oxidizes chloride ions (Cl −) to chlorine gas, it releases electrons to the anode. Likewise, the cathode reduces sodium ions (Na +), which accepts electrons from the cathode and deposits them on the cathode as sodium metal.
Ionic compounds conduct electricity when molten or in solution, typically not when solid. Ionic compounds generally have a high melting point, depending on the charge of the ions they consist of. The higher the charges the stronger the cohesive forces and the higher the melting point.
Sodium chloride (NaCl) has a 6:6 co-ordination. The properties of NaCl reflect the strong interactions that exist between the ions. It is a good conductor of electricity when molten, but very poor in the solid state. When fused the mobile ions carry charge through the liquid. [2]