Question

Explain why sodium chloride solution cannot be used as the electrolyte to produce

sodium metal.
(2)

Answer 1

Step-by-step explanation:

Because the solution only contains Na+ and Cl− ions, and water, and not the metal Na(s) . You cannot evaporate the water from the solution and hope to obtain anything but NaCl(s) .

.

Na(s) has an electron configuration of 1s^2 2s^2 2p^6 3s^1 , but Na+(aq) has an electron configuration of 1s^2 2s^2 2p^6 . That means they are not the same element, and thus, there is no straightforward way of extracting Na(s) from a NaCl (aq) solution