Applications of Electrolysis

The principle of electrolysis can be applied to many important processes of industrial or commercial importance. Some of the applications of electrolysis are described below.

Electroplating
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Electroplating is one of the applications of Electrolysis. It is a process of depositing a thin layer of finer (costlier) metal over the article of a baser (cheaper) metal with the help of electric current. Electroplating is done with the following objectives. Decoration e.g., electroplating of silver or gold on brass etc. Surface protection e.g. Nickel plating on iron, to protect it from rusting. Repair of finer machine parts.

The article to be electroplated is first treated with an alkaline solution to remove grease. It is then treated with acid to remove any oxide layer. It is then washed with water and made cathode in a tank containing the solution of a suitable salt of the metal to be deposited. A thin sheet of pure metal is made anode. With the passage of electric current, the anode goes on dissolving and the metal ions from the solution get deposited on the article in the form of metal. The choice of the electrolyte used in the electroplating bath is very important. A good electrolyte should have the following characteristics. It should be highly soluble in water. Its solution should be a reasonably good conductor of electricity. Its solution should be stable towards oxidation, reduction and hydrolysis. It should be reasonably priced.

To obtain a thin, coherent and bright deposit, the conditions of low current density, optimum temperature and low metal ion concentration are necessary

Silver Electroplating
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For silver plating, the solution of potassium argento cyanide, K[Ag(CN) 2] is the electrolyte. The article to be plated is made cathode, while anode is a thin sheet of pure silver. Following reactions take place during electroplating.

The dissociation of [Ag(CN)2] maintains a constant concentration of Ag in the solution.

Electrorefining of Metals
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Electrorefining of Metals is the most convenient method used for the purification of a number of metals e.g., copper, silver, gold, zinc, aluminium, nickel etc. The crude (impure) metal is made the anode and a thin sheet of pure metal is made the cathode. The electrolyte is usually an aqueous solution of suitable salt (simple or complex) of the metal with some corresponding acid, if necessary. When electric current is passed, pure metal gets deposited on the cathode. The low electropositive impurities in the anode, settle down at the bottom and are removed as anode mud, while the more electropositive impurities pass into the solution. The electrolytic method sometimes yield valuable metals in the form of anode mud e.g., silver and gold are collected in the anode-mud during the electrolytic refining of copper. In the case of electrorefining of copper, the anode is made of impure copper, while cathode is made of a thin sheet of pure copper. The electrolyte is an aqueous solution of copper sulphate acidified with sulphuric acid. The reactions taking place during electrolysis are,

Sulphuric acid (H2SO4) prevents the hydrolysis of Cu2+. The electrode reactions are,

Electrotyping
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This process is used for the reproduction of some craftwork e.g., art work on metals, woodcarving and gramophone records etc. An impression of the object is taken on a wax block. The wax blocks impression is then coated (sprayed) with a fine power of graphite and is made cathode in an electrolytic bath containing solution of a suitable salt e.g., copper sulphate. The anode is made of a thin sheet of pure metal e.g., copper metal. The passage of electric current results in the deposition of copper on the wax block impression. After a reasonably thick layer of metal is obtained, the wax is removed by melting. The metallic impression so obtained can be used for obtaining its copies on paper or on plastics.

Electrorepairing
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Electrodepositing the required metal can accomplish the repairing of certain metallic components that require high precision. This is one of the main applications of electrolysis. The whole surface of the broken/damaged object or component is covered with wax except where the repair is needed. The broken metallic object is made the cathode and the pure metal as the anode with a suitable electrolyte in a cell. On electrolysis, the cavity or dent is gradually filled with the metal. After some time the object is removed from the electrolytic bath, washed and the excess metal is removed by machining the repaired article to its proper size.

Electrometallurgy
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Many metals such as sodium, potassium, magnesium, aluminium, titanium and non-metals such as chlorine and hydrogen are obtained by electrolytic method. Heavy water (D 2O) and many organic compounds are also prepared by electrolytic method.

Production of Seamless Metallic Tubes

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Metallic tubes without any joints are produced by the electrolytic method. For example, depositing on hollow lead tubes serving as cathode, in an electrolytic bath of copper sulphate using copper anodes, makes seamless copper tubes. The lead is later melted and removed, giving a copper tube without any seam or joint.

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