Electrolysis：Electrolysis

Technique in chemistry and manufacturing

This article is about the chemical process. For the cosmetic hair removal procedure, see Electrology. Illustration of a Hofmann electrolysis apparatus used in a school laboratory

In chemistry and manufacturing, electrolysis is a technique that uses direct electric current (DC) to drive an otherwise non-spontaneous chemical reaction. Electrolysis is commercially important as a stage in the separation of elements from naturally occurring sources such as ores using an electrolytic cell. The voltage that is needed for electrolysis to occur is called the decomposition potential. The word "lysis" means to separate or break, so in terms, electrolysis would mean "breakdown via electricity."

The word "electrolysis" was introduced by Michael Faraday in 1834,[1] using the Greek words ἤλεκτρον [ɛ̌ːlektron] "amber", which since the 17th century was associated with electrical phenomena, and λύσις [lýsis] meaning "dissolution". Nevertheless,...