378 C. A. Peters — Electrolysis of Sodium Chloride 



Looking at the table and omitting expts. 3-6 and observing 

 the remainder in which the current was interrupted when the 

 ammeter read about '03, it is seen that the alkalinity of the 

 inner cell is less when the initial current is greater. Looking 

 atexpts. 1, 2, 7, 8, and 9, in which a lower current, '%4c-'77 amp., 

 was used, it is seen that the alkalinity increases with the time 

 of electrolysis. In experiments 3-6, where initial current was 

 larger and the time short, the alkalinity is small. 



Now with these experiments comes the very natural conclu- 

 sion that an electrolysis conducted for a longer time with a 

 low current produces more sodium hydroxide in the inner cell 

 than one run the shorter time with a stronger current. 



Stive)' Oxide. — The presence of sodium hydroxide in the 

 inner cell suggests the presence of dissolved silver oxide in the 

 inner cell liquid. Accordingly a few drops of - 1N sodium 

 chloride solution were added to the acidic liquids of inner cells 

 described in expts. 7 and 8 of Table IV. In No. 8 an opales- 

 cence appeared at once and in No. 7 a slight precipitate 

 appeared after standing a few days, indicating in both experi- 

 ments the presence of soluble silver compound, the oxide, in 

 the inner cells. The amounts of silver chloride precipitated 

 from ■ these inner cell liquids by sodium chloride was not 

 determined but was judged to be only one or two tenths of 

 a milligram. 



When the electrolyses recorded in expts. 3-6 of Table IT 

 were made, in which the current was stopped at O'l ampere, 

 no soluble silver oxide was found in the inner cell by the 

 addition of - 1N sodium chloride solution to the liquid acidic 

 with sulphuric acid. 



Silver, then, may be lost by solution, as silver oxide, when the 

 electrolysis, under the conditions given in expts. 7 and 8, 

 proceeds from 30 to 45 minutes ; but is not dissolved — expts. 

 3-6 — if the current is strong enough to complete the opera- 

 tion in 14-19 minutes. 



Turbidity. — The opalescence of the inner cell liquid during 

 electrolysis has attracted the attention of many workers. 

 Goldbaum and Smith* suggested that the distance of the anode 

 from the mercury was a factor in its production ; and that 

 electrolyses made with the anode l cm above the mercury were 

 free from turbidity. Later, Goldbaumf stated that platinum 

 exposed to the electrolyte during electrolysis is responsible for 

 the opalescent phenomenon. 



The writer is unable to draw any conclusions from his work 

 regarding the matter. The opalescence was encountered in 

 some instances and in others, apparently identical, it was 



*L. c. fL. c 43. 



