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An electrolyte is a substance that conducts electricity through the movement of ions, but not through the movement of electrons. [1] [2] [3] This includes most soluble salts, acids, and bases, dissolved in a polar solvent like water.
The electrolyte is usually a solution of water or other solvents in which ions are dissolved. Molten salts such as sodium chloride can also function as electrolytes. When driven by an external voltage applied to the electrodes, the ions in the electrolyte are attracted to an electrode with the opposite charge , where charge-transferring (also ...
an electrolyte: usually a solution of water or other solvents in which ions are dissolved. Molten salts such as sodium chloride are also electrolytes. two electrodes (a cathode and an anode) which are electrical terminals consisting of a suitable substance at which oxidation or reduction can take place, and maintained at two different electric ...
Pure water has a charge carrier density similar to semiconductors [12] [page needed] since it has a low autoionization, K w = 1.0×10 −14 at room temperature and thus pure water conducts current poorly, 0.055 μS/cm. [13] Unless a large potential is applied to increase the autoionization of water, electrolysis of pure water proceeds slowly ...
The electrolyte provides a means for ion migration whereby ions move to prevent charge build-up that would otherwise stop the reaction. If the electrolyte contains only metal ions that are not easily reduced (such as Na +, Ca 2+, K +, Mg 2+, or Zn 2+), the cathode reaction is the reduction of dissolved H + to H 2 or O 2 to OH −. [1] [2] [3] [4]
Water is inexpensive, an effective solvent for electrolytes, and significantly improves the conductivity of the electrolyte. The Japanese manufacturer Rubycon was a leader in the development of new water-based electrolyte systems with enhanced conductivity in the late 1990s. [ 46 ]
The Weston cell has an anode composed of cadmium mercury amalgam, and a cathode composed of pure mercury. The electrolyte is a (saturated) solution of cadmium sulfate. The depolarizer is a paste of mercurous sulfate. When the electrolyte solution is saturated, the voltage of the cell is very reproducible; hence, in 1911, it was adopted as an ...
The cathode is in many ways the opposite of the anode. The name (also coined by Whewell) comes from the Greek words κάτω (kato), 'downwards' and ὁδός (hodós), 'a way'. It is the positive electrode, meaning the electrons flow from the electrical circuit through the cathode into the non-metallic part of the electrochemical cell.