Electrolysis of molten sodium chloride NaCl involves the use of an electric current to drive a non-spontaneous chemical reaction. In this process, molten NaCl is decomposed into its elements, sodium Na and chlorine Cl2 . Here is a step-by-step explanation of the chemical reactions and the balanced chemical equations for each stage of the process:1. Molten sodium chloride is composed of Na+ and Cl- ions. When an electric current is passed through the molten NaCl, the positively charged sodium ions Na+ move towards the negatively charged cathode, while the negatively charged chloride ions Cl- move towards the positively charged anode.2. At the cathode reduction : The sodium ions Na+ gain electrons and are reduced to form sodium metal Na . The balanced half-reaction for this process is: Na+ + e- Na3. At the anode oxidation : The chloride ions Cl- lose electrons and are oxidized to form chlorine gas Cl2 . Since each chlorine atom needs to lose one electron, two chloride ions are involved in the reaction to form one molecule of Cl2. The balanced half-reaction for this process is: 2Cl- Cl2 + 2e-4. The overall balanced equation for the electrolysis of molten sodium chloride is obtained by combining the half-reactions at the cathode and anode: Na+ + e- + 2Cl- Na + Cl2 + 2e- Canceling out the electrons on both sides of the equation, we get: Na+ + 2Cl- Na + Cl2So, during the electrolysis of molten sodium chloride, sodium ions are reduced at the cathode to form sodium metal, and chloride ions are oxidized at the anode to form chlorine gas. The overall balanced chemical equation for this process is Na+ + 2Cl- Na + Cl2.