Question

Give three applications of electrolysis.

Answer 1

The three applications of electrolysis are:

1. Electroplating - This process applies the method of electrolysis in plating a thin layer of superior metal (silver, gold, nickel, chromium, etc.) over the inferior metal. This is done to prevent the inferior metal (iron, copper, etc.) from corrosion and also for improving the look of the inferior metals.

2. Electrolytic refining - This process is used to purify impure metals by passing electric current through them . Metals like copper, silver, zinc, etc. are refined by electrolysis to get 99.99% pure metals.

3. Electrometallurgy - This process is used in extraction of highly reactive metals from their ores through electrolysis. Metals such as potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium, etc. are extracted from their ores by electrolysis​.