JEE Main Chemistry question

The main reason for using a mercury electrolytic cell in NaOH manufacture is that:

(A)Hg is toxic
(B) is discharged at cathodeCorrect
(C)Hg has a high vapour pressure
(D)Hg is a good conductor of electricity

Answer: (B)

Solution

In the mercury (Castner–Kellner) cell, the high overpotential for hydrogen evolution on mercury allows , rather than /water, to be preferentially discharged and reduced at the mercury cathode, forming sodium amalgam that is later

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Question ID VK-137754