This aluminum-air battery demonstration could make a great school experiment, which illustrates how batteries convert chemical to electrical energy. These reactions occur at their electrodes, which then exchange electrons through an electrolyte that separates them.
Aluminum–air batteries produce electricity from the reaction of oxygen in the air with aluminum. We show you how to demonstrate this principle at home. You will need kitchen foil and activated charcoal for the electrodes. While the electrolyte is as simple as salty water you mix together.
Everything You Need To Build Your Aluminum-Air Battery
Here’s what you need for your aluminum-air battery demonstration:
- Kitchen foil, paper towel, scissors, and masking tape.
- Activated charcoal from an aquarium store or pharmacy.
- A spoon, kitchen salt, a small cup, and some water.
- Two electrical leads with metal clips at each end.
- A small electrical device such as a motor or light.
Now Let’s Get Going With The Demonstration
Here are the steps you take for your aluminum-air battery demonstration:
- Cut out a piece of foil, say 6 x 6 inches (15 × 15 centimeters).
- Fold a piece of kitchen paper towel twice over to form a rectangle
- Put water in the cup. Keep adding salt until some does not dissolve.
- Gently dampen the paper towel, using the salty water solution.
- Carefully place the moist kitchen paper on top of the kitchen foil.
- Put a spoonful of the charcoal on the foil, and crush this gently.
- Pour some salt water onto the charcoal until all of it is damp.
- Make sure the charcoal and the kitchen foil do not touch each other!
You now have a ‘battery sandwich’ comprising three distinct layers, namely two electrodes with the moist paper electrolyte between them. Complete your aluminum-air battery demonstration by first connecting one terminal of your small electrical device to the kitchen foil.
Then complete the circuit by pressing the metal clip from the other terminal firmly against the charcoal. Now sit back and watch your electrical device come alive.
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