Salt bridge
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In electrochemistry, a salt bridge is a laboratory item used to connect the oxidation and reduction half-cells of a galvanic cell.
General characteristics
Salt bridges usually come in two types:
- Glass: A glass salt bridge consists of a U-shaped glass or plastic tube, filled with an electrolyte, like aq. KCl, NaCl or KNO3. The electrolyte is so chosen that it does not react with any of the chemicals used in the cell and the anion and cation have similar conductivity, and hence similar migratory speed.
- Paper: Consists of a filter paper, soaked with a relatively inert electrolyte, potassium chloride or sodium chloride. No gelification agent is required as the filter paper provides a solid medium for conduction.
