ELECTROLYSIS

CONTENT

1. Faraday’s Laws of Electrolysis
2. Calculations
3. Uses of Electrolysis and Corrosion of Metals: Corrosion Treated as a Redox Process
4. Rusting of Iron and its Economic Costs
5. Prevention of Rusting of Iron

Faraday’s Laws of Electrolysis

Faraday’s First Law of Electrolysis

1. Faraday’s first law of electrolysis states that the mass (m) of a substance librated or deposited at an electrode during electrolysis is directly proportional to the quantity (q) of electricity passing through the electrolyte.

Mathematically;

M α Q ————– (1)

The unit of quantity is coulombs (c). It is the product of current in Amperes and time in seconds

Q = It ——————— (2)

M α It

.: M = k It ——————— (3)

Where k = proportionality constant

I = current in ampere (A)

T = time in seconds (S)

It can be shown that the reciprocal of k, which is called charge-to-mass ratio, is Cf/M.