Question

During silver plating of an article using potassium argentocyanide as an electrolyte, the anode material should be:
A. Cu
B. Ag
C. Pt
D. Fe

Answer 1

Hint-In order to deal with this question first we will discuss silver plating and the general term electroplating and also about the metals that should be used as the cathode and anode in the process of electroplating, then we will proceed further by knowing the term electrolyte.

Step-By-Step solution:
Plating is a coating of the surface where a metal is placed on a conductive surface. For hundreds of years, plating has been done; it is still important for new technologies.
An electrolyte is a material which, when dissolved in a polar solvent, produces an electrically conductive solution, such as water. The dissolved electrolyte is separated into cations and anions, which uniformly disperse through the solvent.
Process of silver plating is like electroplating in which standard silver metal is used for electroplating. This is a highly expensive process and is used for special purposes only. In any kind of electroplating the anode is made up of the metal to be plated on the article. And the cathode is made up of the article to be electroplated. In the given case since the process is silver plating so the anode is made up of silver.
Hence, during silver plating of an article the anode is made up of Ag.
So, the correct answer is option B.

Note- Plating is used for decorating objects, corrosion resistance, enhancing solderability, hardening, enhancing wearability, minimizing friction, improving paint adhesion, altering conductivity, improving IR reflectivity, radiation shielding and other uses. Jewellery usually uses silver or gold finish plating. Students should consider the electroplating cycle in general, and also the metals used in cathode and anode.