Ok, i hooked it up to some electricity and it didnt work maybe the salt bridge is too small? what do you guys think.. it was just suposed to be a "prototype" improvised from some old pipe and a PET bottle. The power supply was 5V at 13A and i used carbon electrodes from a lantern battery.

Ok, I'm a little confused about your "salt bridge" I assume that is the small green thing that joins the two pipes, could you explain what it is exactly. What did you put into the solution to be electrolysed?

 

~Scott

yeah, its a small tube made from a PET bottle. H20 + NaCl was the solution put in.

Ok do you mean that it was filled with a NaCl solution or paper soaked with NaCl because the only "salt bridge" I know of is the latter. And if you are using a paper salt bridge then that is the problem (a salt bridge of this kind is not used in these situations). If you are using a NaCl solution without the paper salt bridge then I would suggest changing the electrolyte to sulfuric acid.

 

~Scott

5 volts are too low if you are using very diluted NaOH solution along with that narrow tube bridge away from the electrodes. The rules are:

1- Higher voltage is better.

2- Electrolyte concentration for effective electrolysis 5% to 10 % by weight (My experience)

3- The electrodes should "see" each others, which means that the solution from one electrode to the other should be uninterrupted physically by insulating material, because the solution must be linearly polarized.

 

I think that your device is in violation of #3 only.

ditto, because using common salt NaCl you`ll not get your H and O.

 

also even though your power supply is RATED at 13A, the aparatus will not draw that much, a weak sulphuric acid soln and 12v would be better