Editing Electrolytic cell (section)

{{Short description|Cell that uses electrical energy to drive a non-spontaneous redox reaction}}
{{original research|date=November 2017}}
{{More citations needed|date=November 2023}}[[Image:Electrolyser 1884.png|thumb|right|190px| Nineteenth-century electrolytic cell for producing [[oxyhydrogen]]]]
An '''electrolytic cell''' is an [[electrochemical cell]] that utilizes an external source of [[electrical energy]] to force a [[chemical reaction]] that would otherwise not occur.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/workingmethodapp0000unse/ |title=A Working Method Approach for Introductory Physical Chemistry Calculations |publisher=[[Royal Society of Chemistry]] |year=1997 |isbn=0-85404-553-8 |veditors=Murphy B, Murphy C, Hathaway B |location=Cambridge, United Kingdom |language=en |chapter=Electrochemistry I: Galvanic Cells |url-access=registration |via=Internet Archive}}</ref>{{Rp|page=|pages=64, 89}}<ref>{{cite book |last=Harris |first=Daniel C. |url=https://openlibrary.org/books/OL25176031M/Quantitative_chemical_analysis |title=Quantitative Chemical Analysis |publisher=[[W. H. Freeman and Company]] |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-4292-1815-3 |edition=8th |publication-place=New York |language=en |oclc=540161465 |url-access=registration |via=Open Library}}</ref>{{Rp|page=GL7}} The external energy source is a [[voltage]] applied between the cell's two [[electrode]]s; an [[anode]] (positively charged electrode) and a [[cathode]] (negatively charged electrode), which are immersed in an [[electrolyte]] solution.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=89}}<ref name=Skoog/>{{Page needed|date=November 2023}} This is in contrast to a [[galvanic cell]], which itself is a source of electrical energy and the foundation of a [[Electric battery|battery]].<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=64}} The net reaction taking place in an electrolytic cell is a non-spontaneous reaction (reverse of a [[Spontaneous process|spontaneous reaction]]), i.e., the [[Gibbs free energy]] is +ve, while the net reaction taking place in a galvanic cell is a [[Spontaneous process|spontaneous reaction]], i.e., the Gibbs free energy is - ve.<ref name="Skoog">{{cite book |last1=Skoog |first1=Douglas A. |title=Fundamentals of analytical chemistry |last2=West |first2=Donald M. |last3=Holler |first3=F. James |last4=Crouch |first4=Stanley R. |publisher=Brooks/Cole, Cengage Learning <!-- from WorldCat --> |year=2014 |isbn=978-0-495-55828-6 |publication-place=Belmont, CA |oclc=824171785}}</ref>{{Page needed|date=November 2023}}