A mixture of copper and gold metals that is subjected to
electrorefining contains tellurium as an impurity. The standard reduction potential between tellurium and its lowest
common oxidation state, Te4+, is
Te4+1aq2 + 4 e- ¡ Te1s2 E°red = 0.57 V
Given this information, describe the probable fate of tellurium impurities during electrorefining. Do the impurities
fall to the bottom of the refining bath, unchanged, as copper is oxidized, or do they go into solution as ions? If they
go into solution, do they plate out on the cathode?