Sodium Sulfate Cells Generate Hydrogen and Oxygen Gas When a Current

question 9

Short Answer

Sodium sulfate cells generate hydrogen and oxygen gas when a current is passed through the cell.For the following data,calculate the potential required for the cell to generate partial pressures of 0.25 atm for oxygen and 0.50 atm for hydrogen.At the cathode surface the pH is 10 and at the anode surface the pH is 4.A current of 0.32 amps passes through the solution,which has a resistance of 3 .The overpotentials for the anode and cathode are 0.580 V and 0.584 V respectively.
O₂ + 4 H⁺ + 4 e^- ⇋ 2 H₂O E^o = 1.2291 V
2 H₂O + 2 e^- ⇋ H₂ + 2 OH^- E^o = -0.8280 V

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