![]() You are correct that given the standard potentials in the table below, you would expect hydrogen to be reduced first under standard conditions. With the idea that oxidation occurs at the anode in mind, what would happen if we used a zinc anode? Zinc can be used as a cathode because that's where it is being deposited, so we're just adding additional metallic zinc onto our already existing zinc electrode. Platinum and carbon are nonreactive in this system, so they can be used for either electrode. ![]() This is an oxidation reaction, and oxidations always occur at the anode. The other half reaction involves hydroxide being converted into water and oxygen. This is a reduction reaction, and reductions always occur at the cathode, whether the cell is galvanic or electrolytic. As long as we put the zinc ions in an environment where they can be reduced, they will be.Ĭonsider the half reaction that occurs when zinc metal is produced: In this case, we can take a solution of zinc ions and force them to become zinc metal. In an electrolytic cell we are using the electrical energy from an outside power source to drive a chemical system against the direction it would spontaneously move. ![]()
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