Gui316
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Registered: 17-8-2011
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Anodes for CuSO4 aqueous electrolysis
Oh, hey! I'm new in here xD
Okay, let's get to the point. I've just looked up for it, but I couldn't find anything that would satisfy my needs for the knowledge MWHAHAH. Oh well,
I was just wondering with the help of my antennas why isn't actually common to use gold anodes for breaking down some compounds. Isn't gold as good as
platinum? Ah, just more one thing. Tantalum will not dissolve in aqua regia, right? That probably means that it is quite inert. Sooo....Would it be a
good idea to use tantalum as anodes for the electrolysis of an aqueous solution of CuSO4 ?
Ensiferum rocks.
Thank you very much, and remember, I'm not a native english speaker, so just take it easy on me 
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blogfast25
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What you're trying to achieve with your electrolysis will dictate what type of electrodes to use. Gold or tantalum are almost certainly 'overkill'.
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Gui316
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Well, actually I'm trying to see if removing the copper and the hydroxide ions from the solution I can get a small amount of acid.
I'm using a 12v 1a power supply, copper cathode and gold anode, 25, maybe 26 celcius degrees. The gold electrode is oxidizing a little bit, but its
oxide looks to be conducting the current quite well...Not a big problem I think. But something that scares me a little bit is that the hydrogen ions
are being reduced before the solution gets totally clear... That probably means that there is some copper ions on the solution, but the hydrogen ions
are being discharged. That is weird because copper ions were supposed to be preferentialy discharged. Even if the gold anode liberate some gold ions
into the solution, those were supposed to be discharged first. What is going on?
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