Water Electrolysis Accompanied by Side Reactions

Autor/inn/en	Kim, Kihyang; Paik, Seoung-Hey; Rhee, Choong K.
Titel	Water Electrolysis Accompanied by Side Reactions
Quelle	In: Journal of Chemical Education, 98 (2021) 7, S.2381-2386 (6 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Zusatzinformation	ORCID (Kim, Kihyang) ORCID (Paik, Seoung-Hey) ORCID (Rhee, Choong K.)
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0021-9584
DOI	10.1021/acs.jchemed.1c00072
Schlagwörter	Chemistry; Water; Demonstrations (Educational); Science Instruction; Science Experiments; Scientific Concepts + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Chemie; Wasser; Demonstrationsexperiment; Demonstrationsmodell; Demonstrationsunterricht; Teaching of science; Science education; Natural sciences Lessons; Naturwissenschaftlicher Unterricht
Abstract	Water electrolysis is used to teach important and fundamental concepts in chemistry. In practical water electrolysis experiments, it is difficult to achieve the ideal 2:1 ratio of hydrogen to oxygen. This work demonstrates an experimental setup comprising multiple water electrolysis cells connected in series to simultaneously visualize the effects of various electrode materials and electrolytes on water electrolysis. The volumes of oxygen were lower when using stainless steel and graphite anodes, which corrode in the electrolytes containing SO[subscript 4][superscript 2-] and NO[subscript 3][superscript -]anions, compared to those in the presence of the noncorroding Pt electrode. In addition, the volumes of hydrogen in the presence of NO[subscript 3][superscript -]anions, which are catalytically reduced on the cathodes of stainless steel and graphite, were remarkably lower than those obtained with the noncatalyzing Pt cathode. These phenomena are attributed to side reactions which consume portions of the electrons intended for water electrolysis. This demonstration can help students to realize that the experimental results of water electrolysis should be carefully interpreted as they may include a contribution from electrode side reactions. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Division of Chemical Education, Inc. and ACS Publications Division of the American Chemical Society. 1155 Sixteenth Street NW, Washington, DC 20036. Tel: 800-227-5558; Tel: 202-872-4600; e-mail: eic@jce.acs.org; Web site: http://pubs.acs.org/jchemeduc
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01