Chemistry Investigatory

Project
Efforts by:
Name: Aveeral Ahuja
Class: XII-A
Board Roll No:
School: Manav Sthali School
Rajender Nagar, New Delhi-110060
Electrolysis
 Index
• Acknowledgment
• Certificate of Authenticity
• Objective
• Apparatus Used
• Chemicals Used
• Theory
• Reactions Involved
• Procedure
• Observations
• Precautions
• Conclusion
• Bibliography
 Acknowledgment
I feel proud to present my investigatory project in chemistry on
the topic Electrolysis of Aqueous Solutions.
This project would not have been feasible without the proper
and rigorous guidance of my chemistry teacher Mrs. Nidhi
Kapoor who guided me throughout the project in every possible
way. An investigatory project involves various difficult lab
experiments which have to be carried out by the student to
obtain the observations and conclude the report on a
meaningful note. Also I would like to express my gratitude to the
lab assistant Mr. Raju for his support during the making of this
project.
I hope that this project will prove to be a breeding ground for
the next generation of students and will guide them in every
possible way.
 Certificate
This is to certify that the CHEMISTRY project titled
“ELECTROLYSIS” has been successfully completed by
Aveeral Ahuja of CLASS 12 with roll number:
in partial fulfillment of
curriculum of CENTRAL BOARD OF SECONDARY
EDUCATION(CBSE) leading to the award of annual
examination of the year 2024-2025.

TEACHER INCHARGE
MRS. NIDHI KAPOOR
CHEMISTRY TEACHER
 Theory
Electrolysis
It is defined as the process of decomposition of an
electrolyte by the passage of electricity through its
aqueous solution or molten (fused) state.
Mechanism of Electrolysis
Whenever an electrolyte is dissolved in water or is taken its
molten state, the electrolyte dissociates to produce positively
and negatively charged ions, on passing electric current. The
positively charged ions move towards the cathode and hence are
called cations. Whereas the negatively charged ions move
towards the anode and hence are called anions. On reaching
their respective electrodes, ions lose their charge and become
neutral. The cations accept electrons from the cathode to
become neutral species. Thus, oxidation occurs at anode while
reduction takes place at cathode.
The conversion of ions into neutral species at their respective
electrode is called Primary change. The product formed as a
result of primary change may be collected as such or it may go
under a Secondary change to form final products.
Faraday’s Laws of Electrolysis
• The amount of chemical reaction which occurs at any
electrode during electrolysis by a current is
proportional to the quantity of electricity passed
through the electrolyte (solution or melt).
• The amounts of different substances liberated by the
same quantity of electricity passing through the
electrolytic solution are proportional to their chemical
equivalent weights (atomic mass of metal- number of
electrons required to reduce the cation).
 Reactivity Series and
Selective discharge of Ions
In electrolysis, when more than one type of cation or anion is
present in a solution, only one cation and one anion are
preferentially discharged. This is known as the selective
discharge of ions.
How do you predict which ions are discharged in the
electrolysis of a compound in aqueous solution?
If inert electrons are used during electrolysis, the ions
discharged and hence the products formed depend on three
factors:
• The position of the metal (producing the cation) in the
reactivity series.
• The relative ease of discharge of an anion.
• The concentration of the anion in the electrolyte.
The ease of discharge of cations and anions during electrolysis
is shown below.

Cations Anions
NB: Ease of discharge
Potassium ion, K+ Chloride ion, Cl-
increases as we go
Sodium ion, Na+ down the table. Bromide ion, Br-
Calcium ion, Ca2+ Iodide ion, I-
Magnesium ion, Mg2+ Hydroxide ion, OH-

Zinc ion, Zn2+ Note: sulphate ions

(SO42-) and nitrateions
Iron ion, Fe2+
will not be discharged
Lead ion, Pb2+ during electrolysis.

Hydrogen ion, H+
Copper ion, Cu2+
Silver ion, Ag2+
 Selective discharge of cations
during electrolysis
The cations of an element lower in the reactivity series are
discharged at the cathode in preference to cations above it in
the solution. This is because cations of a less reactive element
accept electrons more readily. For example, if a solution
containing Na+ and H+ ions areelectrolyzed, H+ ions are
discharged in preference to Na+ ions. The more reactive the
metal, more stable its compound. The have lost a lot of
energy and have lost electrons to form stable cations, so
cations lower down the reactivity series are more readily
discharged.
 Selective discharge of anions
during electrolysis
Sulphate(SO 42-) and nitrate(NO 32-) ions remain in the solution
and are not discharged during electrolysis. A solution
containing hydroxide (OH-) ions is electrolyzed, the OH- ions
will be discharged in preference SO 42- and NO 2-3 ions. OH- ions
give up electrons most readily during electrolysis to water and
oxygen.
4 OH- (aq) → 2H O (l) + O (g) + 4e-
2 2
 What are the general rules for predicting
selective discharge?
The following rules can be applied when predicting the products
of electrolysis of aqueous solution(using inert electrodes):
Rule 1 Identify the cations and anions in the electrolysis.
Remember that an aqueous solution also contains H+ and OH- ions from
dissociation of water molecules.
Rule 2 At anode, the product of electrolysis is always oxygen unless the electrolyte
contain a high concentration of anions, Cl-, Br- or I- ions.

Rule 3 At the cathode, reactive metals such as sodium and potassium are never
produced during electrolysis of aqueous solution. If the cations come from a
metal above hydrogen in the reactivity series, then hydrogen will be liberated
(liberated=release). If the cations come from a metal below hydrogen, then
the metal itself will be deposited.
Rule 4 Identify the cations and anions that remain in the solution after electrolysis.
The form the product remaining in the solution. summarize the reactions.
For example, in the electrolysis of dilute sodium chloride solution, Na+ and
Cl- ions remain in solution after H+ and OH- ions have been discharged.
Hence the solution of sodium chloride becomes more concentrated after
 Products of electrolysis
Products of electrolysis depend on the nature of material and
the type of electrodes being used. If the electrode is inert, it
does not participate in chemical reaction and acts only as a
source or sink for electrons. On the other hand, if the electrode
is reactive, it participates in the electrode reaction. Thus, the
products of electrolysis may be different for reactive and inert
electrodes. The products of electrolysis depend on the different
oxidizing and reducing species present in the electrolytic cell and
their standard electrode potentials. Moreover, some of the
electrochemical processes although feasible are so slow
kinetically that at lower voltages these do not seem to take place
and extra potential (called overvoltage) has to be applied, which
makes such processes more difficult to occur.
 ReactionsInvolved
In the electrolysis of aqueous solution of KI
AT ANODE
2I- (aq) → I (g) + 2e- ……1 E=0.54V
2
2H2O (l) → 4H+ (aq) + O2 + 4e- …….2 E=1.23V
AT CATHODE
K+ (aq) + e- → K (s) ……3 E=-2.92V
2H2O (l) + e- → H2 (g) + 2OH -(aq) ……4 E=-0.83V
OVERALL REACTION
2I- (aq) + 2H O (l) → I (g) + H (g) + 2OH- (aq)
2 2 2
At anode, reduction potential of iodine ions is lower than reduction potential of
water. Hence oxidation of iodide ions is the preferred reaction. This leads to the
formation of iodine molecules at the anode as a result the solution around anode
turns yellowish brown.
At cathode, reduction potential of water is higher than that of potassium ions due to
which the reduction of water is preferred. As a result hydrogen molecule and
hydroxyl ions are formed at cathode. Hydroxyl ions provide purple color to the
solution side at the cathode. Also bubbles are formed due to formation of hydrogen
gas.
In the electrolysis of an aqueous solution of NaBr
AT ANODE
2Br- (aq) → Br (g) + 2e-
2
AT CATHODE
- -
2H2O (l) + 2e → H2 (g) + 2OH (aq)
OVERALL REACTION
2Br- (aq) + 2H O (l) → Br (g) + H (g) + 2OH- (aq)
2 2 2

In the electrolysis of an aqueous solution of AgNO4

AT ANODE
2H2O (l) → 4H+ (aq) + O2 + 4e-
AT CATHODE
Ag+ (aq) + e- → Ag (s)
OVERALL REACTION
4 Ag+ (aq) + 2H 2O (l) → 4H+ (aq) + O2 + 4Ag (s)
Due to inert carbon electrode, self ionization of water takes place.
Hence Ag will deposit at cathode and O2 gas will generate at anode.
In the electrolysis of aqueous solution of ZnSO4
AT ANODE
+ -
2H2O (l) → 4H (aq) + O2 + 4e
AT CATHODE
Zn2+ (aq) + 2e- → Zn (s)
OVERALL REACTION
2 Zn2+ (aq) + 2H O (l) → 4H+ (aq) + O + 2 Zn (s)
2 2
Reduction potential of zinc metal is higher than that of water therefore zinc
metal deposits on the electrode.
This is verified if a glass rod dipped with HCl is put in place of this electrode.
Formation of bubbles takes place indicating evolution of hydrogen gas.
Zn (s) + 2HCl(aq) → ZnCl (aq) + H (aq)
2 2
 Procedure
Prepare 0.1M aqueous solution of given compounds.
Fix a U-shaped tube in a stand and insert two graphite electrodes into both
ends of the U-tube through the crocodile clips.
Take some solution in a beaker and add five or six drops of phenolphthalien
solution and five to six drops of freshly prepared starch solution.
Stir the solution and transfer it into an electrolysis-tube fitted with graphite
electrodes.
Pass electric current through the electrolyte and observe the appearance of
color.
 Observation
S.No. Test solutions Observations Inference
1. Aqueous KI ANODE: Yellow-Orange colour Iodine molecules
solution are released
CATHODE: 1. Violet colour 1. OH- ion is formed
2. Bubble formation 2. H is evolved
2
2. Aqueous ZnSO4 ANODE: Bubble formation O2 is evolved
solution CATHODE: 1. Deposition on electrode 1. H is evolved
2
2. Bubbles with HCl 2. Zn is deposited
3. Aqueous AgNO3 ANODE: Formation of bubbles O2 is evolved
solution CATHODE: Deposition on electrode Ag is deposited
4. Aqueous NaBr ANODE: Reddish-Brown colour Bromine
solution molecules are
released
CATHODE: 1. Pink colour 1. OH- ionis
2. Bubble formation formed
2. H is evolved
2
 Precaution
1. Both the electrodes should be loosely fixed into the U-tube so as to
allow the escape of evolved gases.
2. Electrodes should be cleaned before use.

Conclusion
The electrolysis of different aqueous solutions has been carried out
successfully.

Bibliography
The information about this project has been attained from the following
sources:
1. Chemistry NCERT class 12
2. www.google .com
3. Chemistry Pradeep Class 12