BenZeen - 23-3-2010 at 06:17
Hi
I can't find any Pt electrodes on ebay (or anywhere else), so i was wondering if using something gold plated would be an acceptable substitute? IIRC
gold is a rather inert metal and is often used to plate cheap jewellery etc
Its for the electrolysis of Copper sulfate to Copper metal and H2SO4.
If not, then does anyone know where I could find Platinum coated electrodes?
Thanks 
JohnWW - 23-3-2010 at 06:27
For that purpose, you might as well use a plain Cu cathode (a thick piece of Cu wire should do), and a graphite anode.
woelen - 23-3-2010 at 06:48
Yes, sulfate electrolysis can be done with graphite. If the copper is your main product, then put some fabric around the anode (make a little fabric
bag). Slowly the anode will give off fine carbon powder and if you use suitable fabric (or two layers of fabric) then that fine powder will not float
through all of the liquid.
I'm not sure how well gold will behave as anode in a sulfate solution, but it definitely will NOT behave well in a solution, which contains chloride
and/or bromide. This is because gold forms a rather stable complex with chloride ions and when gold is used as anode in a solution which contains
quite some chloride, then it quickly dissolves.
chief - 23-3-2010 at 08:19
Gold is solvable in some sulfur-rich environments; there are sulfide- or sulfite-leaching procedures for getting gold out of ores ...