Linking galvanic cell and power supply for electrolysis of water [closed]








**Closed**. This question needs [details or clarity](/help/closed-questions). It is not currently accepting answers.
 
 






---








**Want to improve this question?** Add details and clarify the problem by [editing this post](/posts/169246/edit).




Closed 10 months ago.








[Improve this question](/posts/169246/edit) 



[![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/lez73.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/lez73.jpg)


* P- Power supply
* Circle - Water electrolyzer
* - and + are the terminals
* The salt bridge is soaked in potassium nitrate
* Electrolytes - magnesium nitrate and zinc nitrate


The water electrolyzer is made of distilled water and sodium bicarbonate ($\pu{1.5 L}$ of distilled water and $\pu{60 g}$ of sodium bicarbonate)


They are connected in series. The power supply and the galvanic cell should add, but it is not working out.


Is the problem the galvanic cell?




Why such a strange scenario ? Why would one want to add a galvanic cell to an electrolysis circuit? // Your have polarity of the galvanic cell reversed, having 2 electrolytic cells.



> 
> Sorry what do you mean like so it is not possible to have 2 electrolytic cells? (I am new to this topic sorry). This is like a project of mine and I wanted to understand why isn't it possible could you explain to me?
> 
> 
> 


It is possible to have 2 electrolytic cells, just guessing it is not what you have wanted. From description, it looks you want a galvanic cell and an electrolytic cell.



> 
> Well like I tried to use the (Galvanic cell and power supply) to electrolyze water. I did this becuase my galvanic cell didn't provide enough to electroylze water, so I needed a power supply. When I performed it with the powers supply alone it worked, but not with galvnic cell.
> 
> 
> 


Partly because you have the cell orientation reversed, partly possibly due cell internal resistence, depending on the cell capability.


Key:


* Electrolytic cell mode: + on +, - on -
* Galvanic cell mode: + on -, - on +
* Mg electrode is the - one.
* You have $\ce{Power- -> ^{-}elyt. cell\_1^{+} -> ^{-}elyt. cell\_1^{+} -> ^{+}Power}$
* You need $\ce{Power- -> ^{+}galv. cell\_1^{-} -> ^{-}elyt. cell\_1^{+} -> ^{+}Power}$



> 
> I tried to also do that and it made no difference I had some help of like some teachers also and they couldn't also make it work –
> 
> 
> 


Then the too high cell resistance comes to the game, not able to pass high enough current. Did you test the cell for current provisioning?



> 
> Yeah the current was like very low and it was like 0 amps.
> 
> 
> 


If you connect 2 water pipes (power and cell) and one is very narrow(cell), it does not matter if the other(power) is very wide.



> 
> Like when I used the power supplt alone for the electroylysis there was 0 amps but the water was being electroylzed I saw the bubbles forming. –
> 
> 
> 


If it was bubbling , the current was > 0.


 1