Activity

pubs.acs.org/jchemeduc

An Open-Ended Project: Building a High Performance, yet Simple,

Household Battery
Ping Y. Furlan,*,† Thomas Krupa, Humza Naqiv, and Kyle Anderson
Chemistry Department, University of Pittsburgh at Titusville, Titusville, Pennsylvania 16354, United States
*
S Supporting Information

ABSTRACT: An open-ended activity for high school students and college students is
described. Students constructed a battery (galvanic cell) from common household materials
such as aluminum, copper, table salt, and Drano. The battery yielded voltages ranging from
1.2 to 1.9 V, which are higher than those from a typical Zn−Cu lemon cell or a recently
reported aluminum−air battery, and a current density of 33 mA/cm2 that is up to 75 times
better than that of the aluminum−air battery and 150 times better than those of the typical
lemon batteries. Students carried out various tests on the battery to gain an understanding
of the factors affecting the cell performance, such as effect of household materials, NaCl in
the electrolyte solution, electrode surface area, and electrode distance. Then, students,
working in groups, were tasked to build a high-performance battery using common
household materials. The final battery assembly should be able to power the motors of
various toy cars. The project allowed students to relate chemistry to their everyday lives,
gain additional insight in the concepts and principles of electrochemistry, and receive
valuable hands-on experiences with electronics, circuits, and battery technology.
KEYWORDS: High School/Introductory Chemistry, First-Year Undergraduate/General, Second-Year Undergraduate,
Public Understanding/Outreach, Hands-On Learning/Manipulative, Inquiry-Based/Discovery Learning,
Electrolytic/Galvanic Cells/Potentials, Student-Centered Learning

C ollege students enjoy making homemade batteries

containing one or more galvanic cells involving dissimilar
metal strips and fruits such as lemons.1−3 These batteries
demonstrate how electrical power can be extracted from the
chemical energy stored in the household materials in special
devices that can easily be constructed. They are economical
ways that help students learn oxidation−reduction reactions
and how these reactions are used to power laptops, cell phones,
and uninterruptible power systems for military and civilian
vehicles, aircraft, and shipboard, for instance. Students are often
dissatisfied, however, because these types of cells do not
provide substantial current and are seldom used to produce
useful work except for running small devices such as calculators
or digital clocks.1−3 Aluminum is among the most common
metals on earth and readily available to students. Its lightweight
high performance battery using Al as the anode and other
readily available household materials as the cathode and the
electrolyte solution. The performance of the battery was
evaluated based on the battery’s voltage, current, and current
density at the Al electrode. Using Al, Cu, table salt, and Drano,
the students successfully created the galvanic cells with voltages
ranging from 1.2 to 1.9 V, which are higher than those from an
Al−air battery. A high current density of 33 mA/cm2 was
achieved, which is up to 75 times better than that of the Al−air
battery. The final battery assembly provided currents as high as
790 mA and ran the motors of various toy cars. In this article,
we describe an open-ended procedure used by these students,
and invite upper-level high school and first- and second-year
college students to try this procedure and use their knowledge
and imagination to build a high performance homemade
battery.

and three-electron oxidation state makes it an attractive anode
material with a high specific capacity of 2980 (mA h)/g. An
article recently published in this Journal described an
aluminum−air battery that generated 1 V (similar to that
from a Zn−Cu lemon cell) and 100 mA.3,4 Because a 15 cm ×
15 cm aluminum foil was used as the anode, a current density
of 0.44 mA/cm2 was produced at the Al electrode. This current
density doubled those (0.17−0.24 mA/cm2) from a typical
Zn−Cu lemon juice battery (with an electrode surface area of 5
cm2).3,4
At the University of Pittsburgh at Titusville (UPT), the
student affiliates (science and engineering majors) of the
American Chemical Society (ACS) were challenged to build a
© XXXX American Chemical Society and
Division of Chemical Education, Inc.
■
EXPERIMENT OVERVIEW
Students worked in groups of 2−4. Each group constructed a
battery (galvanic cell) using common household materials such
as aluminum, copper, table salt, and Drano. Students carried
out various tests on the battery to gain an understanding of the
factors affecting the cell performance:
• Effect of household materials
• Effect of NaCl in the electrolyte solution
• Effects of electrode surface area
A dx.doi.org/10.1021/ed4000603 | J. Chem. Educ. XXXX, XXX, XXX−XXX
Journal of Chemical Education
• Effect of electrode distance
Then, the students were tasked to build a high-performance
battery using common household materials. The final battery
assembly should be able to power the motors of various toy
cars. Students perform these tasks in the lab either during two
regularly scheduled 3-h lab periods or outside of the regular lab
time with the instructor’s permission and supervision.
■
MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT
Teams of 2−4 students were supplied with an aluminum soda
can (0.3 mm thick) or sheet (1.0 mm thick), a copper sheet
(0.8 mm thick), and other metals (zinc, 0.8 mm thick; iron, 0.8
mm thick; Ni, 0.7 mm thick), and household materials
including vinegar (5% HC2H3O2), table salt (NaCl), bleach
(5−6% NaClO, <1% NaOH), and Drano Liquid Drain Cleaner
(1−5% NaOH, 3−7% NaClO, 1−5% Na2SiO3). Other supplies
included beakers (150 or 250 mL), small butter containers (3
cm × 12 cm × 3 cm), copper wire, alligator clip leads, clear
silicone sealant, coffee stirring sticks, steel wool, metal cutter,
pliers, small dc motors (1.2−3.0 V, 0.2−0.8 A) and toy cars as
well as a digital multimeter, a ruler, and a laboratory balance.
Students may bring in their own choice of materials.
■
GENERAL SETUP
In a typical cell, the dissimilar metal plates, cleaned by
scrubbing with steel wool, rested on the bottom of a beaker
(avoid contact between them). A wire was attached to each
metal plate in a simple crimp-style connection (Figure 1). The
Figure 1. (A) Schematic of attaching the wire to the metal electrode;
the electrode is cut and folded over wire and the metal is crimped to
ensure a solid connection. (B) The electrodes attached to a
multimeter.
electrolyte solution was added to the container, and the
alligator clips were used to connect the metal plates to a digital
multimeter, which measured the cell voltage and current.
Because data were obtained by connecting the multimeter to
the cell as the only circuit element, they represented the open-
circuit voltage and the short-circuit current. These data were
compared to those reported from the Al−air battery and the
lemon batteries that also represented the open-circuit voltages
or the short-circuit currents.
■ HAZARDS
Drano and bleach are corrosive. They can cause eye and skin
burns and are harmful if swallowed. When bleach is mixed with
an acid, harmful chlorine gas is formed; when mixed with
ammonia, poisonous chloramines are produced. Students
should avoid procedures involving mixing bleach with an acid
B dx.doi.org/10.1021/ed4000603 | J. Chem. Educ. XXXX, XXX, XXX−XXX
Activity
or a base, or should perform these procedures under close
supervision. Students should wear goggles, gloves, and perform
all experiments in a laboratory fume hood.
■ RESULTS
Effect of Household Materials
Student data reported in Table 1 resulted from paring
aluminum with a metal in an electrolyte solution: trials 1−3
compared different electrolyte solutions and trials 4−7 different
metals. The aluminum sheet, flatter and easier to work with
when compared to the soda can aluminum, was used for
constructing the Al electrodes. Better battery performance,
however, was achieved using the Al from the soda can. The
students found that the metal pairs with large differences in
their electrode potentials generally produced higher voltages.
The electrolyte solutions were varied from single component
such as vinegar or table salt to multiple components including
table salt and Drano. Students found that the single component
electrolyte solutions produced low currents and concluded that
the Al/Drano, table salt/Cu battery had superior performance:
it stabilized in less than 2 min, provided the highest voltage,
current, and current density, and ran steadily with constant
current and voltage output for at least 2 h. Diluting Drano with
water decreased the cell performance.
Effect of NaCl in the Electrolyte Solution
Three electrolyte solutions were prepared by dissolving 10, 20,
and 30 g of NaCl in 100 mL of Drano. The largest mass, 30 g,
of NaCl did not dissolve completely forming a saturated
solution. As expected, an increase in current was observed as
more NaCl or ions were added, although diminishing return
was seen as solution approached saturation (Figure 2). The
voltage remained fairly constant with added NaCl and showed a
slight decrease when undissolved salt was present (Figure 3).
Data were collected using 2 cm × 10 cm Al/Cu plates.
Effects of Electrode Surface Area
Al and Cu plates measuring 2 cm × 2 cm, 4 cm × 4 cm, and 2
cm × 10 cm were used, along with an electrolyte solution
containing NaCl and Drano in a ratio of 20 g NaCl to 100 mL
Drano. Although the voltage (1.2−1.4 V) was relatively
unaffected, the current increased significantly as the surface
area of the electrodes increased (132 mA for the 2 cm × 2 cm
plates and 280 mA for the 2 cm × 10 cm plates). The 2 cm × 2
cm plates corresponded to a current density of 33 mA/cm2,
which is at least 75 times higher than that of the Al−air battery
and 150 times that of the lemon cell.
Effect of Electrode Distance
The 2 cm × 10 cm Al/Cu plates were immersed in 25 g NaCl/
100 mL Drano solutions. As the distance between the
electrodes was reduced from 1.0 to 0.5 cm, the voltage
remained constant whereas the current increased from 183 to
213 mA. As expected, shortening the distance between the
electrodes reduced the internal resistance resulting in an
increased current.
The Final Assembly
At this point, students selected the electrodes, the sizes of, and
the distance between the electrodes, and the electrolyte
solution for the final battery assembly. They should consider
whether to connect individual cells in series (to increase the
voltage output), in parallel (to increase the current output), or
in a combination of both series and parallel, to optimize the
Journal of Chemical Education Activity

Table 1. Student Data for Cell Current, Voltage, and Current Density at the Al Electrode
Trial Metal Pairs Electrolyte Solution Current/ Voltage/V Current Reaction System
Area (cm2) mA Density/
Distance (cm) (mA/cm2)
1 Al/Cu 10 g NaCl + 50 mL vinegar + 50 mL bleach 140 0.645 9.3 Formed gas with pungent odor; corroded rapidly
2.5 × 6.0
3.0
2 Al/Cu 10 g NaCl + 50 mL Drano + 50 mL water 152 1.22 10.1 Stable; no strong smell; lasted for at least 2 h.
2.5 × 6.0
3.0
3 Al/Cu 10 g NaCl + 100 mL Drano 191 1.82 12.7 Stable; no strong smell; lasted for at least 2 h.
2.5 × 6.0
3.0
4 Al/Cu 20 g NaCl + 100 mL Drano 155 1.86 11.7 Stable; no strong smell; lasted for at least 2 h.
3.5 × 3.8
3.6
5 Al/Ni 20 g NaCl + 100 mL Drano 78 1.46 5.9 Stable; no strong smell; lasted for at least 2 h.
3.5 × 3.8
3.6
6 Al/Fe 20 g NaCl + 100 mL Drano 40 0.868 3.0 Stable; no strong smell; lasted for at least 2 h.
3.5 × 3.8
3.6
7 Al/Zn 20 g NaCl + 100 mL Drano 70 0.735 5.3 Stable; no strong smell; lasted for at least 2 h.
3.5 × 3.8
3.6

battery performance. They also should consider the battery’s

size so it could fit in the toy cars easily. The students’ final
assembly, shown in Figure 4, utilized three Al and two Cu strips

Figure 4. The cross-section view of the final assembly of the cell with
Figure 2. The effect of NaCl on the current of the Al/Drano, table dimensions of 3 cm × 12 cm × 3 cm.
salt/Cu cell.
of 2 cm × 10 cm by size. They were connected in parallel and
immersed in a 20 g NaCl/100 mL Drano solution in a butter
container (3 cm × 12 cm × 3 cm). The electrodes were
separated with small pieces of plastic cut from a coffee stirrer (1
mm in diameter) that were glued on the electrodes using
silicone sealant. The battery current and voltage, measured 5
min after the cell operated, were (385 ± 15) mA and (1.342 ±
0.055) V, respectively (Table 2). The battery yielded a current
density of (6.4 ± 0.3) mA/cm2. The assembly’s performance
was enhanced when the Al electrodes were constructed from a
soda can: the assembly offered a current of 790 mA, a voltage of
1.688 V, and a current density of 13 mA/cm2. All assemblies
ran the motors of several toy cars.

Figure 3. The effect of NaCl on the voltage of the Al/Drano, table

salt/Cu cell.
■ DISCUSSION: THE CHEMISTRY OF Al/DRANO,
TABLE SALT/Cu CELL
Students may be challenged to propose the possible cell
reactions responsible for the high performance of the Al/
Drano, table salt/Cu cell by analyzing the changes of the major
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Journal of Chemical Education Activity

Table 2. Student Generated Current, Voltage, and Current Density of the Final Battery Assembly
Measurements at 5 mina Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Averageb Standard Deviation Relative Standard Deviation/%
Current/mA 391.0 367.1 396.0 385 15 3.9
Voltage/V 1.404 1.318 1.303 1.342 0.055 4.1
Current Density/(mA/cm2) 6.5 6.1 6.6 6.4 0.3 4
a
The electrode materials were a 1.0 mm thick aluminum sheet and a 0.8 mm thick copper sheet. bMuch higher voltage (1.688 V), current (790 mA)
and surface current density (13 mA/cm2) were achieved when the Al electrode was constructed from a soda can.

species involved. These include changes in mass of the

electrodes and the major components, NaOH, NaClO and
NaCl, in the electrolyte solution. After 2 h of reaction, the mass
of copper electrode was found to have stayed unchanged and
that of aluminum lost by 4.3%. The mass loss of Al suggests a
standard oxidation of Al. Aluminum thus acts as an anode and
serves as a reducing agent and the copper an inert cathode
(electron shunt). In aqueous alkaline solutions, the anode half
reaction may be expressed as5
Anode:
Al(s) + 3OH−(aq) → Al(OH)3 (s) + 3e−
E° Al/Al(OH)3 = 2.32 V (1)
An expanded description of aluminum oxidation in eq 1 should
include Al dissolution as aluminate, Al(OH)4−, as limited by the
solubility of Al(OH)3,6
Al(OH)3 (s) + OH−(aq) ⇌ Al(OH)4 − (aq) (2)
K = [Al(OH)4 − ]/[OH−] pK = − 0.509 (3)
During the cell operation, a white foamy gelatin-like layer
was developed near the Al electrode, which turned into white
flakes that suspended in the electrolyte solution. White deposits
were also observed to form on the Al electrode. The observed
white flakes and deposits are consistent with the formation of
the water insoluble Al(OH)3 product as described by eq 1.
Students may also be asked to carry out a potentiometric
titration to compare the quantities of strong base, due to OH−
ions, and weak base, due to ClO− ions, in the electrolyte
solution before the cell operation and after the cell being
operated for more than one hour. Typical data, shown in Figure
5, illustrates a definitive consumption of ClO− ions. The
formation of pungent odor gas (chlorine) was not detected.
Because the electrolyte solution was almost saturated with
NaCl, no attempt was made to detect the change in chloride
concentration. The results suggest that ClO− ions in the
solution are reduced at the cathode, serving as the oxidizing
agent. The cathode half reaction may therefore be expressed as
Cathode:
ClO−(aq) + H 2O(l) + 2e− → Cl−(aq) + 2OH−(aq)
E°ClO− /Cl− = 0.89 V7 (4)
And the overall cell reaction is
2Al(s) + 3ClO−(aq) + 3H 2O(l) → 2Al(OH)3 (s)
+ 3Cl−(aq) E o = 3.21 V (5)
− (as opposed to electrochemical) reaction described by eq 5 and
Although OH ions may take part in the cell processes as
shown by eqs 1 and 4, they do not appear in the net
electrochemical process as described by eq 5. The pH and the
quantity of OH− ions of the electrolyte would be expected to
Figure 5. The potentiometric titration curves of the analyte solutions
against a standard HCl (0.0993 M) solution. The analyte solution is
prepared by diluting 5.75 mL of either unreacted or reacted electrolyte
solution with 75 mL of deionized H2O. The “unreacted” analyte
solution refers to the cell electrolyte solution before the cell’s
operation and the “reacted” solution to the one after the cell being
operated for more than 1 h. The titration curves provide information
on the cell-reaction-induced changes in the quantities of strong base
(OH− ions) and weak base (ClO− ions) in the electrolyte solution.
The titration reaction from beginning to the first equivalence point is
represented by H+(aq) + OH−(aq) → H2O(l) and from first to second
equivalence point by H+(aq) + ClO−(aq) → HClO(aq).
remain relatively constant. This is supported by Figure 5, which
shows although appreciable decrease in the ClO− quantity is
observed, the change in the OH− content, if any, is slight.
Equation 5 predicts a high thermodynamic standard cell voltage
of 3.21 V. Using the conditions described, open-circuit voltages
close to 1.9 V were observed. Because the experiments were not
carried out under the standard 1 M concentrations for all the
electro-active solution species and the solid electro-active
species were not pure, deviation of voltage measured from the
Nernst behavior is expected. However, such effect should be
limited. Because 6 mol of electrons is transferred in the
balanced equation as described by eq 5, a 10-fold change in
concentration would result in 1000-fold change in reaction
quotient in the Nernst equation, corresponding to a voltage
change by only 0.03 V. The difference between the voltage
calculated thermodynamically and the voltage observed must be
largely attributed to the various forms of over potentials,
including resistance, concentration, and activation over
potentials.8,9 Additionally, parasitic reactions that compete
with the electrochemical reaction contribute to the cell voltage
reduction. These parasitic reactions may include the chemical
2H 2O(l) + 2e− → H 2(g) + 2OH−(aq) (6)
− −
4OH (aq) → O2 (g) + 2H 2O(l) + 4e (7)

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Journal of Chemical Education

■
Activity

Al(s) + 3/4O2 (g) + OH−(aq) + 3/2H 2O(l) REFERENCES

→ Al(OH)4 − (aq) (8)
Al(s) + OH−(aq) + 3H 2O(l)
→ Al(OH)4 − (aq) + 3/2H 2(g)
(9)
Because the soda can is an alloy containing 97.8% aluminum,
1.2% manganese, and 1.0% magnesium,10 the enhanced battery
performance may result from the Al being activated and the
parasitic reactions being reduced due to the presence of other
metals.11,12 Additionally, when the less pure aluminum from the
can was used, a tint of gray was observed in the white
precipitate.
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(2) Swartling, D. J.; Morgan, C. Lemon Cells Revisited-The Lemon-
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(3) Muske, K. R.; Nigh, C. W.; Weinstein, R. D. A Lemon Cell
Battery for High-Power Applications. J. Chem. Educ. 2007, 84, 635−
638.
(4) Tamez, M.; Yu, J. H. Aluminum-Air Battery. J. Chem. Educ. 2007,
84 (12), 1936A−1936B.
(5) Licht, S.; Marsh, C. A Novel Aqueous Aluminum/Ferricyanide
Battery. J. Electrochem. Soc. 1992, 139 (12), L109−L111.
(6) Chu, D.; Savinell, R. F. Experimental Data on Aluminum
Dissolution in KOH Electrolytes. Electrochim. Acta 1991, 36, 1631−
1638.
(7) Perchlorate. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perchlorate (accessed

■
July 2013).
SUMMARY (8) Battery Technologies and MarketsVoltage Drops. http://
battery.berkeley.edu (accessed July 2013).
The activity allows students to gain experiences on how (9) Overpotential. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overpotential (ac-
electrode and electrolyte material selection affects the battery cessed July 2013).
performance. It shows an increased electrode surface area, a (10) The Disappearing Aluminum Can: An Oxidation-Reduction
decreased distance between the electrodes, and an increased Activity. http://www.hschem.org/Laboratory/Flinn/
quantity of the mobile ions or reacting species in the electrolyte Disappearing%20Aluminum%20Can.pdf (accessed July 2013).
solution result in an increased cell current. It also shows that (11) MacDonald, D. D.; English, C. Development of Anodes for
Aluminum/Air BatteriesSolution Phase Inhibition of Corrosion. J.
although cell voltage largely depends on the cell reactions, Appl. Electrochem. 1990, 20, 405−417.
various forms of over potentials and parasitic reactions can (12) Licht, S.; Myung, N. A High Energy and Power Novel
affect the cell voltage significantly. Students experience Aluminum/Nickel Battery. J. Electrochem. Soc. 1995, 142, L179−L182.
connecting cells in series, parallel, or a combination of both
to vary the battery voltage and current. They appreciate
constructing anodes using the lightweight and abundant
aluminum that provides three electrons upon oxidation and
enjoy a high performance battery built with some well-known
household materials. The project allows students to gain better
understanding of electrochemistry, familiarity with the battery
technology, and valuable hands-on experiences with electronics
and circuits.

■
*
ASSOCIATED CONTENT
S Supporting Information

Handouts for students and notes for instructors. This material

is available via the Internet at http://pubs.acs.org.

■ AUTHOR INFORMATION
Corresponding Author
*E-mail: furlanp@usmma.edu.
Present Address
†
P.Y.F.: Math and Science Department, U.S. Merchant Marine
Academy, Kings Point, NY 11024.
Notes
The authors also declare the views expressed in this article are
the authors’ own and not those of the U.S. Merchant Marine
Academy, the Maritime Administration, the Department of
Transportation or the United States government.
The authors declare no competing financial interest.

■ ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We would like to thank our students, Stanley Tyler, Joe
Hartshorne, Josh Hoffman, Greg Aaron, Sophia Lubrin, and
Anthonie Campbell, for their invaluable contribution to the
project.
E dx.doi.org/10.1021/ed4000603 | J. Chem. Educ. XXXX, XXX, XXX−XXX