Faraday’s First Law of Electrolysis

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Faraday’s first law of electrolysis states that the mass of an element liberated or deposited during electrolysis is directly proportional to the quantity of electricity that passes through the electrolyteAn electrolyte is a substance that dissociates in water into charged particles called ions. Positively charged ions are called cations. Negatively charged ions are called anions. Simply, an electrolyte is a... More.

Mathematically \( \scriptsize M \propto Q \)

Where M is mass deposited in grammes and Q is the quantity of electricity passed in coulombs.

Quantity of electricity = \( \scriptsize current\:(I) \: \times \: time \: (t) \)

i.e Q = I × t

The First Law of Electrolysis can also be stated as follows:

The mass of an element discharged during an electrolysis is directly proportional to

a. the magnitude of the current
b. the time of flow of the current

\( \scriptsize M \propto Q \)

\( \scriptsize M \propto I \: \times \: t \)

Or

\(\scriptsize M = E\: I \: t \)(Where E is a constant known as the electrochemical equivalent of the substance)