Nimo

Study smarter with Nimo

Personalised revision that adapts to you. Ace your revision with unlimited practice questions that are designed to help you learn faster. We're slowly rolling out to more and more students.

Try Nimo

Electrolysis of molten ionic compounds

Chemical changes • Electrolysis

Key concepts

What you'll likely be quizzed about

  • Melting an ionic compound breaks its crystal lattice, allowing ions to move freely and carry an electric current.
  • Without solvent molecules, only the compound's cations and anions are mobile.
  • An electrical current drives cations toward the cathode and anions toward the anode, where they either gain or lose electrons to form neutral atoms or molecules.

Flashcards

Test your knowledge with interactive flashcards

Describe the role of an inert electrode.

Click to reveal answer

An inert electrode provides or accepts electrons without reacting with products, preventing extra side reactions.

Key notes

Important points to keep in mind

Molten state eliminates water, allowing only compound ions to participate.

Cations reduce at the cathode to form metals, while anions oxidize at the anode to form non-metals or molecules.

Balance electrons in half-equations using ionic charges.

Inert electrodes prevent unwanted reactions that affect products.

Impurities or multiple ions can alter expected products.

Halide anions produce diatomic halogen gases at the anode.

Predict metals at the cathode and non-metals at the anode for binary ionic compounds.

Built with v0