When electrolysing a solution of NaCl, you’d normally expect water to be oxidized to oxygen and oxonium because of the electrode potentials: Cl2 + 2 e− ⇌ 2 Cl− +1,36 V O2 + 4 H3O+ + 4 e− ⇌ 6 H2O +1,23 V Nevertheless, you can “trick out” the potentials by using a graphite anode and a saturated NaCl solution. The smaller chloride ion can attach to the graphite more easily than the bigger H2O molecule, so the chloride ion will be oxidized to chlorine (“over voltage” effect). However, some …
