8. Electrolysis of aqueous solutions

Available for over a year

In this episode, Dr Sunayana Bhargava and Tulela Pea explore electrolysis of an aqueous solution and look at the products formed at the anode and cathode. Suitable for: AQA, Edexcel, OCR. For more information on electrolysis of aqueous solutions, check out the BBC Bitesize website: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/z9h9v9q/revision/2 Key learning objectives discussed in this episode include: - The ions discharged when an aqueous solution is electrolysed using inert electrodes depend on the relative reactivity of the elements involved. - At the negative electrode (cathode), hydrogen is produced if the metal is more reactive than hydrogen. - At the positive electrode (anode), oxygen is produced unless the solution contains halide ions when the halogen is produced. - This happens because in the aqueous solution water molecules break down producing hydrogen ions and hydroxide ions that are discharged. - Students should be able to predict the products of the electrolysis of aqueous solutions containing a single ionic compound.