Inert Conductor

[Madison Hurst]

How do you know which inert conductor to add Pt vs Hg?

[Ashish Verma 2I]

I believe in lecture he said that Mercury will only be used as an inert conductor if it present in the reaction initially but I"m not entirely sure, sorry. But I believe Platinum should be used if an inert conductor is needed unless Mercury is part of the reaction.

[Kevin Tang 4L]

I believe in lecture he said that Mercury will only be used as an inert conductor if it present in the reaction initially but I"m not entirely sure, sorry. But I believe Platinum should be used if an inert conductor is needed unless Mercury is part of the reaction.

This is correct. When in doubt use Pt(s) as the inert electrode and only omit it when there is already a conductor in the overall reaction equation, like Cu(s) or Zn(s).

[mbaker4E]

To be on the safe side, you should always use Pt(s) when you are unsure, unless Hg is present in the first place.