Electrolysis Of Aqueous Sodium Chloride

[Atlas301]

This was really cool, thanks for the video!

I know, not really productive comment, but it is really hard to find any intelligent videos sometimes.

[irawks555]

It all boils down to the selective discharge of ions. Though hydroxide ions are much preferred over chloride ions, however, due to high concentration of the NaCl solution, chloride ions would still be discharged at the anode to produce chlorine gas.

[Sherwah1]

This means even though OH- are bleow cl- in the reactivit series , cl- will be released in this case as the concentration is greater.I think it is this way!

[henrythecat11111]

Also, if your hypothesis was assumed to be correct, you would be extracting sodium and chlorine... In water.

Your face would STILL be full of glass.

[henrythecat11111]

That test tube is filled with H2 and O2. Were you to accidentally touch those wires together you'd have your face full of glass shrapnel.

Please do not practice chemistry until you have taken it either FULLY through highschool, or at least freshman university.

[XSRtiliry]

you dont need to go to school for common sense..

if that is salt water, it is Cl and H2, the O2 is a redox reaction with the sodium. if there were to be any exploding there would have to be much higher volts and about 1 liter of H2 gas. ( in order to get a face full of glass.)

[chasincam]

@henrythecat11111

lol, there is not enough H2 gas for any explosive force to be strong enough to break that glass. H2 is weak and can burn you, but the, 5 mL's he's collecting is harmless. LMAO, university? my 8th graders can perform this reaction. No need to get our panties in a bunch.

lol, glass in your face?

[kinggarywong]

nerd!

[atourdeforce]

im fairly sure you just broke the bond between the H2-O in water and the sodium chloride asts inhertly as an electrolyte. you would need the salt to be molten, and even then you would need to pump an inhert gas like argon into the reaction vessle to stave off air as this would stop the forming sodium from reacting as its made.

[Davioware]

wouldnt oil work instead of a gas?

[atourdeforce]

of coarse not, the oil would firstly react, an inhert gas is non reactive, its only used to keep off reactive air stopping other compounds forming, secondly it would also burn at that heat, so no it wouldnt work under any circumstances, good try tho i see why you might of thought so.

[Yurmomnsn]

@atourdeforce well at least theres one person who knows that they're talking about watching these videos

[Kaugummimann]

that is not sodium chloride... but a solution of water and salt...

for an electrolysis of sodum chloride >800 degrees calcius are needed

@baytekkDesigns:

using mercury is much too dangerous... mercury is a toxic heavy metal...

it's much more easier to build a so called downs cell, melt the salt in it and using the electrolysis method to separate the Na and the Cl2...

[bck1990]

it is aqueous sodium chloride, not molten sodium chloride...

[Roboklintworth]

@Kaugummimann its aqeous sodium chloride. molten sodium chloride, which you are thinking of, needs high temperatures and yeilds different products.

[bomckwawa]

what would happen if you dropped butter into the solution midway through experimentation? =D

[tecknoviking444]

LoLL randomness

[niertap]

well in a basic solution you make some h2 cl2 naoh and in acidit you'll start to form som cl2 naclo3 then naclo4 and h2. the bluish green gunk would be copper hydroxide

[jampot92]

is this experiment able to be done using a 9V battery?

[BaytekkDesigns]

You can extract sodium metal from an NaCl & H2O solution using the Hg amalgam electrolysis method. Then you sublimate off the mercury in a vacuum, leaving behind pure Na.

[niertap]

it would be much safer to just go the electrolysis of naoh or nacl. the logistics would be ridiculous to do that.

[siouxieblair]

niertap, Yes, the setup & procedure would be relatively complicated (I see it as a fun glassblowing, safety, high vacuum puzzle, etc), but my point was, that there is often more than one way to solve an equation.

[BackyardSkunkworks]

Sodium can be made by electrolyzing NaCl, but not NaCl in water. Molten NaCl will electrolyze into Na metal and Cl gas.

[namestakin]

I was hoping this was actual electrolysis not a simple salt solution....

[dilon068]

yea, from this u get a couple products, hydrogen, chlorine, and sodium hydroxide, thats why the water feels slippery after.

[immolation4u]

I just realised I didn't even answer you question LOL, I don't know if this helps:

Sodium metal is made by electrolysis of sodium chloride (common salt).

Na(+) + electron -> Na metal

If not useful for you, sorry to have wasted your time, is it is useful then you're welcome. bye now

[Retard0800]

would this work using 2 carbon electrodes and a 9v battery, also how long would a 9v battery continously run for ?

[boxman222666]

im going to build the dopest ClO3 cell ever.

[SymAmineC8H11N]

cool kid...haha i like the graphite anode, what'd you get that from a pencil?

[MajorUtah]

The green is either from copper in the wire W/O2 (Copper-Dioxide) or it's just a reflection from the table..

Nice vid..keep it up Hoorah..... *XD;

[RandomDirectors]

The green is chlorine i did it in school 3 days ago.

The chlorine dissolves in the water.

[trey9440]

this is simple since for 9 and 10 grade lol but we havent goten to this yet but its in ur text books lol....

how long do u leave it on to make sodium chlorate cuz i leave it on for 2 2/3 hours and i get a good bit of it but now how do i seperate the water from the powder stuff cuz i cant boil it

[Retard0800]

carefully pour of as much water as u can without losing any sodium chlorate when the sodium chlorate starts to go with the water pour it on about 2-3 pieces of paper and spread out, some of the water will be absorbed by the paper and the crystals will dry along with the paper, scrap of the crystals and powder further if needed, alternatively u could use a funnel and filter paper the water will go through with the crystals left on the filter paper, leave to dry and collect the crystals.

[trey9440]

well i tried that papper thing but it took a long time so i boiled off th water lol

[pyromodder]

if you don't already know, NaClO3 is too unstable for pyrotechnics. It makes nice yellow flares but otherwise it is pretty useless.

To produce chlorates you will need better anodic materials that are more resistant to the corrosive environments produced in chlorate cells. You could manage with graphite, but that contaminates your solution and unless you feel like twiddling your fingers while you slowly clean the solution with coffee filters nine times I Would'nt recommend it.

[SimonBlokky]

can i make sodium by electrolysis?

[AdrianayMauricio]

no, you can extract sodium from NaCl, by electrolysis, this is you break the link between this two elements, but the sodium its alredy made by... god??

[immolation4u]

Hey SimonBlokky, In reply to your question..My understanding is that pure Sodium Chloride is subject to electrolysis simply to melt it in order to make it give off a spark ie, when combined with water the spark ignites the hydrogen gas which is produced from the mixture of water and sodium chloride to create some sort of a reaction. Reaction+confined area = boom. then again, it probably has other uses, but a bomb is always fun.

[nick1f]

You can't make sodium by electrolysis of solution of NaCl (the formed sodium reacts instantly with the water). Instead, if you can buy Sodium Hydroxyde (NaOH), you can melt it with a flame (around 61 Celsius). Then use a DC voltage source (like 12V, 10Amps or a car battery). You have to do this in open space, as the vapours are highly corrosive and they can damage your lungs, as well as surrounding objects. Also, don't touch with your bare hands either the sodium hydroxide or sodium!!!

[BaytekkDesigns]

nick1F: Oh yes you can.

[nick1f]

BaytekkDesigns,

You are right about producing sodium from NaCl solution, using mercury. However, not everybody has such a vacuum system. Mercury is toxic and people have to avoid inhaling vapors.

[BaytekkDesigns]

Correct about the safety needed. The vacuum system can be an old compressor from a refrigerator. If you know how to blow pyrex tubing you can make a closed distillation apparatus wheras the Hg is never released. The pyrex tube that transfers the Hg gas from test tube 'a' to test tube 'b' is fused shut after the Hg is sublimated, creating an ampoule of Na in a miniscule atmosphere of Hg. Immerse the collection test tube in ice water during the process. Max safety gear & lexan barrier is a must!

[MyTBuff]

The "gas" in the tube is water vapor. You can't see H2, Cl2 is green(and not formed)& O2is not made. Cl2 on the anode reacts w/ OH- to make OCl-(bleach). This setup makes H2 and Bleach soln from water. To make Chlorine, you need a membrane or diaphragm to isolate the anode and cathode that allow the Na+ ions to move to cathode where H2 is produced while the Cl- ions combine to give CL2 (chlorine gas) and 2e-. Na metal and O2 cannot be produced here.

[jmmatos23]

hmmm, could u explain more? where would i have to put the diaphragm or the membrane? and how would that work?

[radu842000]

as I can see only your comment is correct

[chemkid81294]

im srry but you were wrong from the beginning. there isn't enough salt water in the glass for the chlorine to accumulate enough to turn green. the most it would do is make a slight yellow haze.

[chemkid81294]

actually the sodium bonds with the hydroxyl ions b4 it can explode

[jmmatos23]

yes, it produces NaOH like when u put sodium on water, its the same reaction going with the Na and the OH but it wont explode.

[chemkid81294]

oxygen and hydrogen dont accumulate at that rate. you would have to use a car battery

[chemkid81294]

he is using either brine or distilled water and added salt

2 NaHClOH-->Cl2+H+NaOH

[chemkid81294]

srry

2 NaHClOH-->Cl2+H2+2 NaOH

[noplsthx]

can anyone tell me the porportion of salt and water? and wad is the voltage of the battery? i need hydrogen gas and chlorine gas

[vmelkon]

The proportion doesn't matter. You can use low voltage from 1.5V to 12V.

[chemkid81294]

i used three d batteries and the chlorine came out in seconds

[labbchem]

you are producing the fowloing thing. *H2 gas *O2 gas *NaOH *Cl2 gas *NaClO4 <----- if you want this you have to do this many times over and over again when the water is finish pour more water. filter and you have one hell of powder that can explode with high energy.

[420chazz]

most likely you are actually producing sodium hypochlorite, hydrogen, and a small amount of chlorine, oxygen and sodium chlorate. to make pure sodium and pure chlorine you must electrolyse molten sodium chloride, which is quite dangerous. figure it out.

[synthpop88]

actually at a high enough concentration of NaCl Cl2 is produced.

[scion171777]

forming bubbles in the test tube!!!

[ajd344]

Hmm, very interesting video! Would try it, but I wonder what you do with all that chlorine afterward? I guess you'd want to be pretty careful with it.

[bck1990]

well i switch on my fan to the maximum to remove all the gases, and i pour away the solution and clean up the basin. lol

[herbivore489]

f. If you want Oxygen, electrolyse a dilute solution of sulpheric acid or sodium sulfate.

If you disagree with any of these points, Google it and then go the to back of class.

[chemkid81294]

i disagree if u want oxygen just do electrolysis on plain water. (why waste sulphuric acid?!)

[slateflash]

That's bcoz sulphuric acid speeds the electrolysis as water is a poor conductor.(pure water is a non-conductor.) Sulphuric acid does not affect the electrolysis process bcoz of the ions present. There r H+,OH- and SO4- ions. At the cathode, H is released as it is the only cation. At the anode, OH- is released as oxygen as it is more easily discharged than SO4-. Bcoz the products are the same, the electrolysis of sulphuric acid is actually the electrolysis of water.

[herbivore489]

d. to the person who said O2 would be produced instead of Cl2 because O is more electro. neg. than Cl... indeed, O is more - than Cl - thus the Cl ions would be reduced first. Go to the back of the room.

e. Household bleach does not yeild pure chlorine but rather Chlorine and alesser amount of Oxygen.

[herbivore489]

b. as the concentration of sodium and hydroxide ions increase it begins to react with the evolving chlorine resulting in Sodium Hypochlorite (NaOCl "household bleach")

c. the chloride ions also attack the metal of the Anode resulting in metallic chlorides being released unlses the anode is impervious: platinum, graphite).

[herbivore489]

You all ate paint chips as children, huh?

To settle all the above issues.

1. It is an aqueous solution of Sodium Chloride (NaCl, common table salt.

2. The Na+ (sodium) Ion is oxidized at the cathode. Since this is an aqueous solution, the Na instantly reduces water releasing H2: 2Na + 2H2O = 2 Na+ + 2 OH- + H2 (gas) If the cathode were mercury, the sodium would amagamate with the Hg instead of reacting with the water.

[herbivore489]

Point 4: the choride ion Cl- is preferentialy reduced to chlorine at the anode.

If the voltage is higher than the electronegativity of O- then a smaller quantity of O2 is produced as well.

Addl. points: a. as a child I did this, chlorine is nasty stuff but one whiff does not mean serious injury,

[chemkid81294]

Point 4. actually the same amount of 02 is produced though you are right on the

Addl. points one wiff wont do much

[CPTeam222]

wers point 3

[chemkid81294]

Point 1. correct

Point 2. your formulas wrong you forgot to add chlorine and without it it would just be 2 NaOH + H2

[canberrasouth]

LOL yes its "very interesting"...what do you want to do with some chlorine gas other then kill people? LOL... JJ actually its pretty basic chemistry and there is stuff in basicly ever yr11/12 chemistry handbook. if you kill yourself im not taking any responcibility :P

[nitrex]

Thats a Realy Good Electrolises Experiment. You dont need to worry about the Chlorine, it isent alot and you needa ventilated area. But its a Good Experiement if ou realy need the Sodium since your school teacher wont give you any. thats what i should do lool.

[triggy18]

2NaCl + 2H2O -> H2 + Cl2 + 2NaOH

[smuczak1]

cloride isnt salt sodium cloride is salt.

[15commandments]

there is no such thing as chloride by itself, it would be just plain chlorine gas.

[joslyn]

In aqueous NaCl, the ions present are H+, OH-, Na+ and CL-. H+ gains electrons more readily than Na+ and therefore H+ ions are discharged in preference to Na+. As we can see from the video, chlorine gas is produced. This tells us that the concentration of Cl- ions is higher than OH- ions, hence Cl- ions are being discharged. Since, H+ and Cl- ions are being discharged, Na+ and OH- will remain in the solution, forming an alkali solution, NaOH.

[chemkid81294]

u r prolly the only rite person here i no ive done the experiment b4 i saw this video

[SINYpyro]

For a second there I thought this kid actually melted the NaCl and tried to produce Sodium metal or something.

That is indeed Chlorine gas in that test tube. When electrolyzing a salt water solution, some of the NaCl will split along with the water. Chlorine gas is formed at the anode along with Oxygen, and Sodium ions and Hydrogen are formed at the cathode and eventually combine to make a Sodium Hydroxide solution.

[originalselmo]

That is not chlorine gas evolving. Because it was a sodium chloride soloution siddolved in water, the has that was developing was eithier Hydrogen or Oxygen (breaking down of water molecules). Proof is easily obtained by looking at the electrovalency table. The electrolysis reaction favors that of water. Pure Chlorine can only be obtained if the solution was pure molten salt (800 degrees later). P

[DNM35]

wrong...electolysis of sodium chloride solution produces hydrogen gas and chlorine gas...pure chlorine gas can very easily be prepared from household bleach as well ..only way to get very pure sodium metal is to use a Downs cell

[RotogenRay]

Well, you can always electrolize some lye, that'll swing it for you. Though, 600 degree lye is not a pleasent substance when it splatters on you and it holds heat for a long time...

[coolcat12121]

no that guys right you have to make the sodium molten first.

[vietfrost]

chloride isnt salt water. hes forming chlorine gas which can make you cough out your lungs when inhaled.

[applesandvodka]

i'm sure he knew that since he was doing the experiment and took the time to make something to do electrolysis with.

[AlbertDigital]

You do realize that Chlorine gas could kill you...right?

[saken]

you realize it says chloride? Aka Salt water.

[CANCANGOR]

Hello .can you tell me how to do that? its very interesting. what do you have in the glass?