Electrolysis of sodium salts of aliphatic acids with ac

Abstract

The electrolysis of aqueous solutions of sodium salts of saturated monocarboxylic acids containing also the corresponding acid at the same concentration has been studied using symmetrical ac at different cds, frequencies and concentrations of the solution. It has been found that the products formed during electrolysis are, in general, the same as obtained by dc electrolysis; their production has been explained on the basis of the formation of free radicals at the electrodes, these free radicals undergoing various subsequent reactions except fragmentation. Electrolysis with ac starts at a much higher cd than that with dc. The current efficiency with respect to the formation of hydrocarbon decreases as the ac frequency increases and the amount of oxygen evolved is, in all cases, less than what would be expected.In every case, carbon starts depositing on the electrodes and with the progress of its deposition the evolution of gases decreases until it stops completely.