Electrolytic cell Electrolytic cell An electrolytic cell is an electrochemical cell that drives a non-spontaneous redox reaction through the application of electrical energy. They are often used to decompose chemical compounds, in a process called electrolysis—the Greek word lysis means "to break up". Important examples of electrolysis are the decomposition of water into hydrogen and oxygen, and bauxite into aluminium and other chemicals. Electroplating (e.g. of copper, silver, nickel or chromium) is done using an electrolytic cell. Electrolysis is a technique that uses a direct electric current (DC). An electrolytic cell has three component parts: an electrolyte and two electrodes (a cathode
Absolute electrode potential been defined as the entropy of the absolute half-cell process defined above. An alternative definition of the absolute half-cell entropy has recently been published by Fang et al. who define it as the entropy of the following reaction (using the hydrogen electrode as an example): This approach differs from the approach described by Rockwood in the treatment of the electron, i.e. whether it is placed in the gas phase or in the metal. The basis for determination of the absolute electrode potential under the Trasatti definition is given by the equation: where: For practical purposes, the value of the absolute