Adding Pt(s)

[Isabelle Hales 1J]

How do you determine if you need to add Pt(s) to your galvanic cell? I noticed the example from Dr. Lavelle's lecture and he stated that there wasn't a proper electrode on the cathode side. How did he determine this?

[Brennan McGurrr 3C]

If the half reaction does not have a conducting solid, like Cu, Zn, Fe, Al or more then a platinum conductor electrode must be inserted. An example of this would be an anode with an ion being reduced into another ion.

[Megan Lu 3D]

Hi! I agree with what Brennan said. We want our galvanic cells to have some solid electrode on both sides, so in the absence of a solid electrode, we often add in Pt(s) or some other conducting solid. An exception to this is liquid mercury, which can serve as an electrode. Hope this helps!

[Arya Adibi 1K]

I think if there isn't a solid metal electrode on either side, you would add Pt(s) as it it is an inert element and won't affect the reaction significantly

[Sharon Kim 2A]

I am assuming that you add the Pt when you don't see a solid in one of the half reactions. This will not change the reaction and will show you cell diagram where it won't only have ions on one side.

[Rachael Cohen 3G]

If the half-reaction does not have a conductive solid, then you will need to add Pt(s) or any other inert metal as the electrode. Remember, the solid must be a conductive metal, so if the solid is something like I2(s) (a nonmetal) you would still need Pt(s).