Building a High Performance Battery

Dawson R. Zick
Animas High School

ABSTRACT: In this lad I preformed experiments to determine how to build a

high performance battery. This involved testing the change in voltage,
current, and current density based on different electrodes (the 2 metals used
to create current), where I kept the cathode (the electrode that current flows
out of) the same, but changed the anode (the electrode that current flows
into). I also tested how these variables
changed as the amount of NaCl added
to the electrolyte (the solution which
both metals are partially submerged in
that causes the chemical reaction that
creates current). The purpose of this is
to build a battery that has a high
enough voltage to and current to be
useful in a reasonable application like
lighting up a bulb on a flashlight or
running a R.C. car. From the data I
collected below it can be seen that a
battery with a copper anode and
aluminum cathode produced the greatest current density, and the electrolyte
solution with 10 g of NaCL produced the highest voltage. A combination of
these 2 optimal tests situations would produces a much better result than

INTRODUCTION: Batters are created by putting to metals in a basic or

acidic solution that frees electrons from the metallic atoms witch will flow
from one electrode to the other. In these experiments I determined what
conditions produce an optimized battery by testing the best electrode pair
for current density and the best amount of NaCl to be added to the
electrolyte solution. These thing are important to make batteries useful for
conventional use in flash lights, game controllers, etc. Batteries are a way of
giving a constant output of energy without having to run a generator at the
location the energy is needed.

METHODS: Several materials are needed for this experiment. You will need:
2 250 ml beakers, 1 meter scale, plenty of Drano, a container of NaCl table

salt, alligator crimps, and strips of aluminum, iron, zinc, and copper. Next set
up the beaker as shown in the picture above with the appropriate electrodes
and electrolyte solution. Then connect the wires to the multi-meter
appropriately. Measure the square centimeters of surface area on the anode,
the voltage of battery cell, and the current. You can then use equation #1 to
calculate the current density.
Equation #1
Current density=current/square centimeters
The first set of test use 100 ml of Drano and keep the electrodes the same
distance apart. Then test aluminum paired with iron, copper, and zinc
secretly. Recorded the current and voltage for each test. Then for the second
set of test use aluminum and copper pairing and keep the electrode the
same distance apparat. You will use 100 ml of Drano mixed with 0, 10, 20
and 30 grams of NaCl table salt. Record all data.
HAZARDS: When doing this experiment do not mix the Drano with any acid
as it will create a chlorine gas that is toxic.
RESULTS: In the data below are the results and calculations from the lab.
Table 1 show the voltage, current, and current density when each metal pair
of electrodes was applied to the battery cell. Figure 1 more simply displays
this data, with copper in blue zing in orange and iron in gray. Table 2 shows
the results from test set 2 with the current and voltage values for each test.
This again is simplified in figure 2 with 3 different sets of information: the
amount of NaCl added to solution, current, and voltage. The result for copper
are consistently stronger than the rest and the results for 10 g NaCl also
show a slightly larger amount Voltage than the other measurements.
Table 1: Current, Voltage, and Current
Metal
Drano
Surface A of
pairs
in mL
electode cm^2
Al/Cu
100
13.5
Al/Zn
100
13.5
Al/Fe
100
13.5

density vs Metal pairs.

Current Voltag Current density
(mA)
e (V)
(mA/cm^2)
0.50
1.80
0.037
0.04
0.80
0.003
0.10
1.10
0.007

Table 2: Curren, and voltage compared to the grams

of NaCl added to 100 ml of Drano
Metal
g of NaCl in
Current
Voltage
Pairs
100ml Drano
(mA)
(V)
Al/C
0
0.04
1.8

u
Al/C
u
Al/C
u
Al/C
u

10
20
30

0
0.12
0
0.00
8
0.00
0

1.9
4
1.4
3
1.8
5

CONCLUTION: To build a high performance battery

Figure 1: V, mA, mA/cm2 Compaired to diffrent metal pairs

Al/Cu

Al/Zn

Al/Fe

the best testing

cells have to be put together.

Figure 2: Voltage (V) and Curent (mA) compared to amount of NaCl added to solution

Al/Cu Al/Cu Al/Cu Al/Cu

The copper did

the best in the first set of tests having a higher voltage current and current
density the rest of the test cells. The electrolyte solution with 10 ml NaCl had
a slight greater than the rest though it was slight enough that it could have
been inconsistencies in the data that put it at the top. So the best battery
cell would be one with aluminum and copper electrodes, but farther testing
would have to be done to determine witch electrolyte solution truly yields the
highest performance.