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
Aluminum electrolytic capacitor sensitive to voltages spikes or current surges. The anodic generated insulating oxide layer is destroyed if the polarity of the applied voltage changes. Every electrolytic capacitor in principle forms a "plate capacitor" whose capacitance is greater the larger the electrode area A and the permittivity ε, and the thinner the thickness (d) of the dielectric. The capacitance is proportional to the product of the area of one plate multiplied with the permittivity, divided by the thickness of the dielectric. Electrolytic capacitors obtain their large capacitance values by a large area and small dielectric thickness. The dielectric thickness of electrolytic capacitors