Written by the Fiveable Content Team • Last updated September 2025
Verified for the 2026 exam
Verified for the 2026 exam•Written by the Fiveable Content Team • Last updated September 2025
Definition
The rate of electrolysis refers to the speed at which chemical reactions occur during the passage of electrical current through an electrolytic cell. It can be measured by factors such as the amount of product formed or consumed per unit time.
A set of laws that relate the amount of substance produced or consumed during electrolysis to the quantity of electricity passed through the cell.
Overpotential: The extra potential required beyond the thermodynamic potential for a reaction to occur at an observable rate.
Current Density: The measure of electric current per unit area, often used to describe how concentrated or spread out electrochemical reactions are occurring on electrodes.