Ok so I just have a few questions.
I've been reading up on the electrolysis of water and just read a few things about electrodes. The article I was reading supports the use of inert metals such platinum and stainless steel, but it also included carbon. I've actually used carbon to decompose water by connecting a 9V battery to two separate pencils. My question with carbon is, at the anode, where oxygen is produced, because there is an electrical charge, will this carbon react with the oxygen to form carbon dioxide or monoxide?
Also, I tried using copper by itself as an electrode and it did not seem to work. Any ideas? the wire was smooth, so should the surface of an electrode be coarse as to possesses nucleation sites for the gases to form?
And for a vague question, what makes a good electrode, specifically for the electrolysis of water?
(These are not homework question. Purely interest.)
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