Electrolysis Of Water Half Reactions
23.9: Electrolysis of Water
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With fossil fuels becoming more than expensive and less available, scientists are looking for other energy sources. Hydrogen has long been considered an platonic source, since it does non pollute the air when it burns. The problem has been finding ways to generate hydrogen economically. One new approach that is being studied is photoelectrolysis—the generation of electricity using photovoltaic cells to split h2o molecules. This technique is still in the inquiry phase, but appears to exist a very promising source of power in the future.
Electrolysis of Water
The electrolysis of water produces hydrogen and oxygen gases. The electrolytic cell consists of a pair of platinum electrodes immersed in h2o to which a small amount of an electrolyte such as \(\ce{H_2SO_4}\) has been added. The electrolyte is necessary because pure h2o will not bear enough accuse due to the lack of ions. At the anode, h2o is oxidized to oxygen gas and hydrogen ions. At the cathode, h2o is reduced to hydrogen gas and hydroxide ions.
\[\begin{assortment}{lll} \text{oxidation (anode):} & 2 \ce{H_2O} \left( 50 \right) \rightarrow \ce{O_2} \left( grand \correct) + 4 \ce{H^+} \left( aq \correct) + iv \ce{e^-} & E^0 = -1.23 \: \text{V} \\ \text{reduction (cathode):} & 2 \ce{H_2O} \left( l \correct) + 2 \ce{e^-} \rightarrow \ce{H_2} \left( thou \right) + 2 \ce{OH^-} \left( aq \correct) & E^0 = -0.83 \: \text{V} \\ \hline \text{overall reaction:} & two \ce{H_2O} \left( l \right) \rightarrow \ce{O_2} \left( k \right) + 2 \ce{H_2} \left( m \correct) & Due east^0_\text{prison cell} = -2.06 \: \text{V} \end{array}\nonumber \]
In order to obtain the overall reaction, the reduction half-reaction was multiplied by two to equalize the electrons. The hydrogen ion and hydroxide ions produced in each reaction combine to form water. The \(\ce{H_2SO_4}\) is not consumed in the reaction.
Summary
Electrolysis Of Water Half Reactions,
Source: https://chem.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Introductory_Chemistry/Book%3A_Introductory_Chemistry_(CK-12)/23%3A_Electrochemistry/23.09%3A_Electrolysis_of_Water
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