Electrolyte

Name:
Electrolyte
Detailed information:
A substance that will provide ionic conductivity when dissolved in water or when in contact with it; such compounds may be either solid or liquid. Familiar types are sulfuric acid and sodium chloride, which ionize in solution. One solid electrolyte, used originally in fuel cells, is a polymer of perfluorinated sulfonic acid used as the core of a water electrolysis cell for production of hydrogen and oxygen. When saturated with water it has high conductivity. Another solid type is a ceramic mixture of sodium, aluminum, lithium, and magnesium used as a separating medium in the liquid-sodium–sulfur (β) battery under continuing development. The most common application of electrolytes is in electroplating of metals in which dissolved (ionized) metal salts are the electrolytes.See Electrolysis; Electroplating.