| MadSci Network: Chemistry |
Iron oxide is Fe2O3 and hydrated iron oxide would be iron hydroxide Fe(OH)3. I am sure that electrons can be electrolytically removed from a piece of iron to form Fe3+ ions,. which would separate from the iron electrode. Hook a piece of iron up to the negative pole of a battery. Hook up an inert conductor (a carbon rod) to the positive pole of the battery. In electrolysis, the two electrodes are immersed in a conducting medium. This is usually an aqueous solution of an electrolyte. Sodium sulfate is such an inert electrolyte. As the iron ions are formed, they are removed from the iron electrode into the solution. If the solution is basic, using sodium hydroxide as the electrolyte, you might get iron hydroxide which might lose water to form iron oxide. The iron hydroxide is insoluble, so I do not know whether it will just coat the iron electrode and shut down the whole process. This is as close as I can come to attempting what you want to do.
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