Electrolysis is a word formed from two Latin words - 'electrum', which means electricity and 'lysis', which means to breakdown. Therefore, electrolysis is defined as the use electrical energy to breakdown a compound into its constituent elements. For instance, using electricity to decompose sodium chloride into sodium metal and chlorine gas, as depicted by their state symbols (s) and (g) in the equation below: 2NaCl(aq) ----> 2Na(s) + Cl2(g) It is a redox process, and one needs a good understanding of redox reactions to understand it. (Kindly refer to our posts on Redox Reactions: Overview , Balancing Redox Equations and Oxidation Numbers ) Before we continue, it is imperative to understand the meanings of some terminologies in electrolysis. Definition of Terms Electrolyte This is a substance which conducts electricity in the aqueous or molten state and gets decomposed in the process. An aqueous solution is formed when a substanc
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