A Homemade Battery

Proposed idea: An aluminium can powered battery

Group Members: Bill Chang, Muhd Danish, Nicholas Kuek

Why?
First of all, aluminium cans are easily obtained and readily available in most
households. This project aims to make a green battery with minimal
environmental impact and aluminium cans are designed to be thrown out or
recycled anyway; making them into a battery can prove to be a green way to
extend their usefulness. The products of this reaction are hydroxide anions and
aluminium oxide, a common compound already found in many household
products like paint, and thus should pose no immediate threat to users. On top of
that, aluminium has a relatively negative reduction potential of -1.66V, implying
that it can, under the right circumstances, produce a significant voltage.
To pair with the aluminium anode, we need a cathode, and for that we will be
using water itself. The reaction will be the reduction of water and oxygen into
hydroxide anions. This reaction has a standard reduction potential of 0.40V. NaCl
salt would be added to the water to produce aqueous ions in order to serve as a
salt bridge to prevent accumulation of charges at the electrodes.
To sum it together, each cell should theoretically have a potential difference of
0.40+1.66=2.06V, which means it should require 2 cells set up in series to
produce sufficient voltage to pass the test.
We plan to construct the battery in the following manner:

An important thing to note is that the wires submerged in the salt solution should
NOT be touching the sides of the aluminium can. In theory, this should produce
up to 4.12V.

Post-testing
After doing some research as well as testing on 21/9, we realised that our battery
had a few flaws. First of all, and most importantly, was that the cans were coated
with a thin plastic layer, and as a result we could not get any voltage from simply
connecting it as shown above. To overcome it, we sanded the insides of the can
in order to remove the plastic coating for the wire clips to have direct contact
with the aluminium metal as well as for the metal to be in contact with the
electrolyte.
Second, we found that our cans were far more inefficient than we had hoped,
and managed to produce only about 0.5-1.0V per cell. As a result, we had to
attach 4 cans in series in order to get about 3.4V, which is unexpectedly low
compared to theoretical values. We suspect this is due to the resistance in the
circuit itself, especially within the cells, as well as not being able to expose the
maximum amount of the can interior to the electrolyte to prevent charge buildup.
To help preserve the integrity of the wires, we immersed carbon rods attached to
the wires into the electrolyte instead of immersing the wire itself, but this is not a
compulsory measure and the wire itself may be immersed directly. Flaps were
also cut in the side of the can to make it easier for us to clip the crocodile clips
onto, but again, this was not a completely necessary step.

At the end of the day, we were indeed able to create a green battery with a bit
of effort that could produce enough voltage to easily light up a red LED bulb.
Our final procedure was as follows:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Cut the top off 4 cans

Sand the inside walls of the cans to remove the plastic layer
Cut 2 slits on the top rim of the can to create a flap
Fill the can with salt water to just under the flap
Clip a crocodile clip to the flap of each can
Attach 4 carbon rods to 4 wires with crocodile clips
Connect the wires in the manner shown above, except with 4 cans instead
of 2, making sure that 1 end of the wire is connected to an immersed
carbon rod while the other end is connected to the flap of an adjacent can,
except for the 2 terminal wires
8. Connect the ends of the terminal wires to an LED or voltmeter for testing

Write-up
In this project, we managed to make a battery with a relatively stable voltage
output of about 3.4V that required no additional labour beyond the initial setting
up and preparation of the cell. It is possible that over time, perhaps a few
minutes, the voltage would drop due to the build-up of aluminium oxide on the
can walls, but this can be easily circumvented with a quick scrub with sandpaper
or a brush.
Current batteries on the market typically are alkaline batteries which means that
it uses an alkaline electrolyte. The battery operates using the redox reaction
between zinc and manganese oxide, using potassium hydroxide as the
electrolyte between the two electrodes. Zinc oxidises into zinc (II) ions while
manganese (IV) reduces to manganese (III). The reaction produces, in theory, an
electric potential of 1.43V, which manufacturers often label as 1.5V per battery.
However, as the electrodes corrode, the voltage produced gets weaker and
weaker, as does the current, which results in batteries running out.
The battery that we invented is a salt battery, using salt as the electrolyte.
Similarly, it is a Galvanic cell run by redox reactions between aluminium and
water. The theoretical yield for our battery is greater, at 2.06V which implies that
it would be able to power more power-hungry devices with greater cut-off
voltage.
However, our battery has a few major flaws. First of all, it is large and
cumbersome, also having the possibility of the electrolyte spilling out. Since the
can is left open, if the battery is moved excessively or accidentally bumped, the
electrolyte could spill out, rendering the battery obsolete. Another major flaw is
in how much preparation is needed to make the battery work as intended. As
mentioned in our log sheet, the true yield of the voltage is much less than
predicted, with only about 0.5-1.0V per cell which was a slight setback. Of
course, this can be overcome using more cells, but again, each cell takes up
considerable space and takes effort to make it begin operation.
Despite all that, there is one main attraction point, and that is in how readily
available all of its components are, as well as the lack of any significant human
or environmental impact. Traditional dry cell alkaline batteries make use of
potassium hydroxide as the electrolyte, a highly caustic chemical that can easily
cause chemical burns and skin irritation. This often happens when the battery is
used up and the electrodes become thinner and thinner, increasing the chances
of leakage. In theory, this could happen for our battery too, but it is unlikely that
you will be using the makeshift battery for such an extended period of time, nor
is our electrolyte harmful in any way to humans or the environment. The
components that are used to make this battery come from simple household
items (cans, wires, salt and water) and can be set up with minimal knowledge of
circuitry and electrochemistry.
We think that in most circumstances, a standard dry cell battery would work far
better, due to its better size to voltage ratio as well as its sheer convenience. On
top of that, most appliances are already engineered to run off standard dry cell
batteries with a pre-determined internal resistance, unlike ours. However, ours

can be a very good substitute to run simple, low-current appliances such as LED
bulbs in a pinch when supplies are not readily available.