Thread: Electolysis

Electrolysis is a very usefull process, however my knowlege of it is limited i would appreciate anyone who could share their knowlege with me. There are a few things that i would like to know.

Is it better to use AC or DC power?

Does the process work better with a large voltage and little current or is it the other way around?

Is there a particular ratio of current to volts that works the best?

With AC power is there a particular frequency that the process works best at?

Why does the anode corrode more rapidly than the cathode?


I would really appreciate anyone who could answer these questions for me or tell where to find some information about it. Thanks

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DC is almost universally used in electrolysis because you can collect the separate gaseous products at each electrode. I have electrolysed water using 60 hz AC. It works well but of course each electrode then yields mixed products. For electroplating, DC must be used.

The process depends on the current. A large current makes the electrolysis proceed faster. The voltage is immaterial, except as Ohm's law applies.

Corrosion at either electrode depends on the materials used and the separate half-reactions that take place there. In a simple experiment, using copper electrodes and baking soda or sulfuric acid as the electrolyte, the half reaction at the anode affects the copper more than the half reaction at the cathode.


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What if i saide that i used a 12cm long and 1 cm thick stainless steal bolt with nuts screwd on it all the way for each electode and table salt as the electolyte. the whole anode corroded away to nothing and i thought that stainless steel diddn't rust or corrode. i left the reaction go for several days.

is what i want to do is create a electolysis model where you put pure water in and you get pure hydrogen and oxygen back out. but without an electolyte the process is much to slow. so i need an electolyte that will not contaminate the gasses that i want to collect