Question

can you help me gain a complete understanding of what chemically occurs during the electrolysis of copper sulfate using copper for both electrodes? the copper sulfate in this situation is dissolved in water. thank you

Answer 1

In electrolysis, the anode is positively charged while cathode is negatively charged

So, Cu2+ moves towards the negative electrode which is cathode

while SO42- moves towards anode

Since cathode(being negatively charged) rich in electrons, Cu2+ gains 2 electrons and sticks to the electrode and becomes Cu (solid form)

While, on anode, SO42- should go to loose electrons but this doesnt happen as it requires lot of energy to do that (overvoltage)

Instead, anode (which is itself made of Cu) starts loosing electrons and starts dissolving to release Cu2+ ions (as this process will require less energy)

So, in the electrolysis of CuSo4 using Cu electrodes,

Cathode reaction: Cu2+ + 2 e ---> Cu

Anode reaction: Cu ---> Cu2+ + 2e