Electrolyte
Electrolytes are also called “Electrolytic Conductors”.“Electrolytes are electrovalent substances that form ions in solution which conduct an electric current.”
In other words,
“An electrolyte is any substance containing free ions that make the substance electrically conductive.”
or
“Electrolytes are any substance
that dissociates into ions when dissolved in a suitable medium or
melted and thus forms a conductor of electricity.”The most typical electrolyte is an ionic solution, but molten electrolytes and solid electrolytes are also possible. The most familiar electrolytes are acids, bases, and salts, which ionize when dissolved in such solvents as water or alcohol. Many salts, such as sodium chloride, behave as electrolytes when melted in the absence of any solvent; and some, such as silver iodide, are electrolytes even in the solid state.
Example:
Sodium Chloride, Copper Sulphate, Potassium NitrateElectrolytes are of two kinds:
- Strong Electrolyte
- Weak Electrolyte
Strong Electrolyte
A strong electrolyte is a solute that completely, or almost completely, ionizes or dissociates in a solution.The solution will contain only ions and no molecules of the electrolyte. Strong electrolytes are good conductors of electricity.
Examples of Strong Electrolytes
Strong Acid
- Perchloric acid(HClO4)
- Hydriodic acid (HI)
- Hydrobromic acid (HBr)
- Hydrochloric acid (HCl)
- Sulfuric acid (H2SO4)
- Nitric acid (HNO3)
- Chloric acid (HClO3)
- Bromic acid (HBrO3)
Strong Base
- Potassium hydroxide (KOH)
- Barium hydroxide [Ba(OH)2]
- Caesium hydroxide (CsOH)
- Sodium hydroxide (NaOH)
- Strontium hydroxide [Sr(OH)2]
- Calcium hydroxide [Ca(OH)2]
- Rubidium hydroxide (RbOH)
- Magnesium hydroxide [Mg(OH)2]
Salts
- Sodium chloride
- Potassium nitrate
- Magnesium chloride
- Sodium acetate
Weak Electrolyte
The solution will contain both ions and molecules of the electrolyte. Here, in solution the ions and the dissociated molecules will be in equilibrium with each other. When such a solution is diluted, the degree of ionization increases. It becomes complete at infinite dilution.
