electrolytic cell

electrolytic cell

n.

1. A cell containing an electrolyte through which an externally generated electric current is passed by a system of electrodes in order to produce an electrochemical reaction.

2. A cell containing an electrolyte in which an electrochemical reaction produces an electromotive force.

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electrolytic cell

A device that contains two electrodes in contact with an electrolyte and that brings about a chemical reaction when connected to an outside source of electricity. The electrodes are made of metal or carbon, and when connected to direct current, one electrode becomes positively charged, and the other becomes negatively charged. This initiates the movement of ions in the electrolyte toward the electrodes: positive ions move toward the negative electrode and negative ions move toward the positive electrode. A chemical reaction then takes place at each electrode, with ions changing from positive to negative (or vice versa), or becoming neutralized. Electrolytic cells have many practical uses, including the recovery of pure metal from alloys, the plating of one metal with another, and the manufacture of chlorine and sodium hydroxide. Compare voltaic cell.

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

electrolytic cell - a cell containing an electrolyte in which an applied voltage causes a reaction to occur that would not occur otherwise (such as the breakdown of water into hydrogen and oxygen) anode - a positively charged electrode by which electrons leave an electrical device cathode - a negatively charged electrode that is the source of electrons entering an electrical device electric cell, cell - a device that delivers an electric current as the result of a chemical reaction electrode - a conductor used to make electrical contact with some part of a circuit galvanic cell, primary cell, voltaic cell - an electric cell that generates an electromotive force by an irreversible conversion of chemical to electrical energy; cannot be recharged