Question by annie: Do cations move to the cathode and anions to the anode in all electrochemical cells or just electrolytic?
I know that oxidation occurs at the anode and reduction at the cathode for all types of electrochemical cells, but I’m not sure about the migration of cations and anions?
Best answer:
Answer by TLV ×
A widespread misconception is that anode polarity is always positive (+). This is often incorrectly inferred from the correct fact that in all electrochemical devices negatively charged anions move towards the anode (hence their name) and/or positively charged cations move away from it. In fact anode polarity depends on the device type, and sometimes even in which mode it operates, as per the above electric current direction-based universal definition. Consequently, as can be seen from the following examples, in a device which consumes power the anode is positive, and in a device which provides power the anode is negative
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