electrolytic cell

American  

noun

1. cell.

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electrolytic cell British  

noun

1. Sometimes shortened to: cell.  any device in which electrolysis occurs

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electrolytic cell Scientific  

1. A device that contains two electrodes in contact with an electrolyte and that brings about a chemical reaction when connected to an outside source of electricity. The electrodes are made of metal or carbon, and when connected to direct current, one electrode becomes positively charged, and the other becomes negatively charged. This initiates the movement of ions in the electrolyte toward the electrodes: positive ions move toward the negative electrode and negative ions move toward the positive electrode. A chemical reaction then takes place at each electrode, with ions changing from positive to negative (or vice versa), or becoming neutralized. Electrolytic cells have many practical uses, including the recovery of pure metal from alloys, the plating of one metal with another, and the manufacture of chlorine and sodium hydroxide.

2. Compare voltaic cell

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Etymology

Origin of electrolytic cell

First recorded in 1935–40

Example Sentences

If they are placed in an electrolytic cell, dispersed particles will move toward the electrode that carries a charge opposite to their own charge.

From Textbooks • Feb. 14, 2019

These catalysts typically sit on the cathode, one of two electrodes in an electrolytic cell containing water.

From Science Magazine • Sep. 10, 2015

The Navy is working on a magical electrolytic cell containing a sodium sulphate solution.

From Time Magazine Archive

He compares an electrolytic cell to a ballroom, in which are gyrating a number of dancing couples, representing the neutral molecules, and a number of isolated ladies and gentlemen representing the anions and cations respectively.

From The Mechanism of Life by Leduc, Stéphane

It was as if in each electrolytic cell atoms of matter and atoms of electricity travelled together.

From Recent Developments in European Thought by Various