Make an Aluminum Air Battery

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We show how to make an Aluminum Air Battery
"Air" batteries are batteries that use oxygen from the air as an oxidant for their chemistry. Most batteries on the other hand carry another chemical as their oxidant. Air batteries are currently being researched by scientists as a means of energy storage for everything from cars to laptops.
The aluminum air battery is one of the simplest to make. To do just mix 60 grams of salt with 300mL of water. Then attach wires to a ball of aluminum foil and a piece of steel wool. Put the aluminum in the bottom of the salt water and place a paper towel over it. Then place the steel wool on top.
You now have an aluminum air battery. The iron in the steel catalyzes the reaction of oxygen with water to make hydroxide and the aluminum reacts with the hydroxide to make aluminum oxide.
The power isn't very good because aluminum metal tends to passivate under these conditions. Better chemicals and electrode materials usually fix these issues, but that's beyond the ability of the home lab.

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7 июл 2024

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Комментарии : 292

@NurdRage 13 лет назад

@Computeroctprocessor yeah, youtube cut of my video, the actual vid has the whole sentence in it. Weird.

@NurdRage 13 лет назад

@fernandesilyt No, i did not, youtube cut off the last few seconds of the video. you can check the captions and see the line is there.

@NurdRage 13 лет назад

@TheDrakenZ youtube cut of my video, the actual vid has the whole sentence in it.

@Afrotechmods 13 лет назад

You can do a LOT with 17 milliamps! Can't wait for the next video!

@Rainbowpikmin93 13 лет назад

@NurdRage I just wanted to say that your videos have been fueling my love for chemistry for quite some time, while also keeping me informed and educated of interesting things like this, thanks a ton!

@NurdRage 13 лет назад

@Cheejyg air batteries get some of their reactants from the air, as opposed to regular batteries that are completely self contained. An air battery wouldn't work in outer space for example.

@NurdRage 13 лет назад

@Kendrana I think it would still work, chromium also catalyzes the reaction, just not as well as iron. Go for it :)

@BearLovesVideos 13 лет назад

Absolutely love your work. Watched all of your video's! Always excited to see new material!

@NurdRage 13 лет назад

@lexichronicle2 as i've said before in these comments countless times. The rules apply differently to galvanic cells. What you're describing is an electrolytic cell.

@tuva600 13 лет назад

Got to try this!

@blackyblackblack505 13 лет назад

Good stuff man as always

@GraphiXhouse 13 лет назад

pretty amazing! Please more vids with house hold chemicals!

@dr4cula 13 лет назад

I'm actually amazed that you can get some current and voltage like that - damn, there's so much that can be done with regular household appliances - thank you for the informative videos :)

@NurdRage 13 лет назад

@dethbot12 Applying a current to the battery does not restore the products back into the original reactants. therefore it's a primary battery.

@AliChannu 13 лет назад

yay i've just made my own battery. keep up the good work!

@NurdRage 13 лет назад

@barbarossaaaa this is a galvanic cell. the salt bridge IS the salt water. In a text-book cell the bridge allows ions to pass.

@NurdRage 13 лет назад

@aeroscope Professionally manufactured ones do. This is a home-made job so its performance is lacking. A great deal of extra work and chemicals are needed to make it high-capacity

@NurdRage 13 лет назад

@Chaoschemiker awesome, good we cleared that up. :)

@thebestofall007 11 лет назад

I made three of these cells, wired them in series, and was able to power a small sony fm radio walkman that takes one AA battery. In place of the steel wool, I used aquarium filter charcoal, as it has a better surface area for oxygen to get in, so the cells provide more current.

@b1ismissingjr 13 лет назад

Awesome as usual!!!

@girrrrrrr2 13 лет назад

I was waiting so long for you to start making videos again!

@NurdRage 13 лет назад

@fart1fart1 yeah, anode/cathode, negative/positive, is really weird and applies differently to different cells and situations. took me awhile to get it right too.

@Prchemist06 3 года назад

Yeah he is right you just said cathode or +ve electrode Anode or -ve electrode

@FrogKillr 13 лет назад

You make excellent videos. Thanx and keep up the good work!!!

@aaron45765 13 лет назад

Gotta love chemistry =)

@LukeVader77 13 лет назад

Haha, a cell in a beaker! Cool video!

@spotlightman1234 13 лет назад

YEAH!!! i have been waiting for your zinc air battery video ever since the gravety battery video! cant wait. :3

@spiff873 13 лет назад

@NurdRage I did some reading on Davy a while back. You are completely correct. It can be argued that the "confusion," assuming there were any, happened on BOTH sides of the Atlantic. And that it matters none at all on either side as long as we agree that it's the same metal. 'Scuse me while I go catch a lift down to my lorry.

@NurdRage 13 лет назад

@djtron1x iron catalyzes decomposition of peroxide, the resulting bubbling peroxide would be dangerous to handle.

@HandlesBad 13 лет назад

Great video :)

@megadaddy1995 13 лет назад

whats the best home made and lab made bottle rockets (like coke and mentos type stuff) .

@sonicase 13 лет назад

hey nice, something i can actually do with stuff i already have in my house you probably already know but you can also use fruit and or starches (potato) you could have multiple containers with the same thing and then hook them up in series to add the voltage and maybe run some little electronic device

@forrest225 13 лет назад

Awesome. I need to make this. Like right now. I would if I had steel wool.

@oudotcom 13 лет назад

Well done, but the best and cheapest solution is graphite with alufoil as the electrodes and water and K2CO3 as the electrolyte. This gives about 1.3 to 1.5 Volts and lasts long and graphite can be selfmade (lookup the overunity forum) or from pencils. And Alufoil you can get from every supermarket. Many thanks for your nice videos ! Regards, Stefan.

@Burt521 13 лет назад

I'll hafta remember this if im ever stranded on an island!

@NurdRage 13 лет назад

@THETOMANATOR2 the agreement also extends to recognizing aluminum as a valid spelling as well. just check the IUPAC website.

@megadaddy1995 13 лет назад

whats the best home made and lab made bottle rockets (like coke and mentos type) .

@NurdRage 13 лет назад

@Hellsslave666 things are different for batteries, i know its confusing but rules apply differently.

@ciaoiosonoio 13 лет назад

Good! I wil try this

@spiff873 13 лет назад

Nice demo. You might have pointed out that metal oceangoing craft suffer from corrosion (oxidation) resulting from these same electrochemical effects by reason of their metals coming in contact with salt water.

@Hellsslave666 13 лет назад

@NurdRage I'm a little confused. Isn't the positive electrode the anode and negative kathode? I'm pretty sure it is for diodes and capacitors so why would it not be for this battery?

@Cobalt-Jester 13 лет назад

@lexacor Aluminum is the correct way. That is how it was spelt by the discoverer. It was later renamed by the English to make it sound more like other elements.

@Kendrana 13 лет назад

@NurdRage I have steel wool, but it's stainless steel. As I understand, stainless steel is usually coated with chromium nowadays, is there a way to get rid of the Cr but not get rid of the Fe?

@Vbeck56 13 лет назад

Awesome I love these videos

@Kendrana 13 лет назад

@Nurdrage Alright. I'll try it later or tomorrow. The steel wool I have is kinda odd, it doesn't burn like usual iron/steel wool does (like, it gets ember red if you burn it, and all it does is make some smoke with 9V batteries), and even trying to get rid off the Cr with NaOH doesn't really seem to work. Ah well, I'll see how it goes and let you know!

@RyuSujin 13 лет назад

Yesss a new nurdrage vid! : D

@kickit246 13 лет назад

Thats kind of neat. Your videos are always very interesting and I always look forward to them :P. OHH, just thought of something. I remember in high school (or middle school), we burned a pile of green powder which caused a really cool firework effect, but it built up a lot of ash at the source and eventually was shooting up through a mound of ash. It looked like a volcano almost. I can't quite recall what it was we used.... Hmmm I was going to recommend it, o well. I'll think on it lol.

@NurdRage 13 лет назад

Weird, for some reason youtube cut off the last few seconds of the video

@AbsurdlyLudicrous724 13 лет назад

I only subbed because i wanted to see the cool gadgets ya made

@numex106 13 лет назад

@NurdRage is it because the cathode supplies/loses it's electrons therefore making it positively charged?

@NurdRage 13 лет назад

@steaknkibble you got a clipped or cut copy, the actual one has 521 pages.

@ReeMm1X 13 лет назад

This.Channel.Is.Awesome. =D Thanks NURDRAGE!

@NurdRage 13 лет назад

@lexacor Other countries spell it that way, mine does not, we spell it as aluminum.

@JackTSunn 13 лет назад

Thanks for doing this. There's a lot of power in aluminium - spread the word. Jack

@Zappyguy111 13 лет назад

Hey, I can now make my Alumina Capacitor now! I've never been entirely sure how to get my hands on Alumina. Before I go spending big bucks on steel wool and aluminium foil. (Or burning my way though the house supply). Alumina forms a protective coating is that right? So I'll probably never get a glass of alumina?

@NurdRage 13 лет назад

@nige111 please point out where i get the atomic number wrong, or say anything about its appearance.

@kelvinng9616 13 лет назад

@woshigepro but water also is conductive,I think salt can increase the conductivity of the water.

@hasan24253 Год назад

Thanks alot for this video, I learn from you some thing which I was looking for long time.

@depotdevoid 13 лет назад

How long does a battery like this last before the reaction stops producing electricity? Nice video as always!

@PyroDesu 12 лет назад

@SlackerSlayer An electrical battery is one or more electrochemical cells that convert stored chemical energy into electrical energy. A rechargeable battery or storage battery is a group of one or more electrochemical cells. They are known as secondary cells because their electrochemical reactions are electrically reversible.

@SonyFoLife 13 лет назад

new do try this at home . . . new nurdrage . . . A VERY GOOD AND SCIENTIFIC DAY!

@cutieboy101568 11 лет назад

would a weak acid be a better catalyst for it?

@spiff873 13 лет назад

@Cooldude32281 The terms were used correctly. It may seem confusing, but think of it this way: when you're dealing with the electrochemical SOURCES of the battery's energy, as opposed to that which it powers, the terms are reversed.

@NurdRage 13 лет назад

@steaknkibble So where did 1812 come from? Anyway IUPAC also recognizes aluminum as a valid spelling as well.

@NurdRage 13 лет назад

@stunna47pyro That applies to electrolytic cells, not galvanic cells like this one.

@metazoxan2 8 лет назад

So what if I use copper, aluminum, and salt water (plus maybe some vinegar)? What would my voltage and current be from that? BTW I have a fair bit of all three of these things and PVC pipe and gallon sized barrels so I can make fairly large ones.

@Kendrana 13 лет назад

@MKplayer7 That's redox. Getting along with the fact that the oxidant gets reduced and the reducer gets oxidized is harder than the actual equations however. :P

@NurdRage 13 лет назад

@TheGuyInUrCloset i'm serious, the rules are more complicated depending on what you apply them to.

@shadethedarkbringer 13 лет назад

Can other household, or generally easily accessible materiels be used to replace the cathode, anode, and/or the middle substance?

@pxmstr 13 лет назад

to all the nerds out there trying to bring Dr. L down forget it!!!.....this person is an educated individual who does nothing but promote the education of others who have not had the opportunity to studies advance sciences. If you don't like ..DON'T COMMENT//////thank you.

@deathventure 13 лет назад

the actual voltage and amperage readings on the battery probably won't even be that high due to very little or no load upon it. Give it a small load (varying sizes of resistors) and test the readings again.

@chickenpoper 13 лет назад

this doesn't have to do with cemicals but can you show us how to make a cumputer controlled wind chamber/tube please?with smoke/fog to see the air patterns if you put an object inside of the tube that obscures the air path

@HazMatLabz 13 лет назад

so if you were directly bubble oxygen into the solution would it increase the productivity?

@NurdRage 13 лет назад

@Turzath Good idea!

@NurdRage 13 лет назад

@lexichronicle2 its ok, took me a long time to get it right too. ;)

@OEForty 13 лет назад

@Hellsslave666 wikipedia's anode page actually explains it well. Anode/Cathode labeling depends on whether the device in question is producing or consuming power.

@stevenmorris2164 12 лет назад

Just curious were did you go to collage at.

@vevenaneathna 13 лет назад

wouldnt the aluminum form a coordination complex in the chemical reaction? and would that affect the reaction at all? Also, thanks for this very good video.

@Djbirch19 13 лет назад

Wait isn't the anode the positive electrode and the cathode the negative or is it different in some cases?

@insaneAnimeLover 12 лет назад

You could use sodium carbonate (washing soda) to get much more voltage and current but the battery would only last a day or so since aluminum slowly dissolves in sodium carbonate. Sodium hydroxide will also work but with that you have to be very careful not to use too much of it or you get a violent (and dangerous) reaction.

@opaldragon75 13 лет назад

You cut your self off there! LOL but I resubscribed again anyway! you do know you can go 15 min at least. so if the video is under 5 mins don't worry about trimming it up! Great video!

@PuppetMaster303 13 лет назад

What could I power with this. Could i power a gameboy if i wired it correctly or does this not give off enough energy?

@michalchik 13 лет назад

I suspect that your current is being limited by the availability of oxygen to the iron. I would put in in a flat dish and spread it out. Also a touch of base in the aluminum portion will help take off the oxide better than the chloride alone. Otherwise good design.

@Woodyhobbit 13 лет назад

Awesome videos but just curiously how do u know how to make all of these stuff or are they related to ur job?

@NurdRage 11 лет назад

yup

@NurdRage 13 лет назад

@LifeInATent well in that case you're in luck, type in "levitate pencil lead" to find my video where we do just that, completely real and scientific.

@bensonboys6609 3 года назад

The Wikipedia page on aluminum air batteries says that that the aluminum oxidizes to Al(OH)3. I noticed you have it going to Al2O3. Does the aluminum hydroxide turn into aluminum oxide and water?

@AaronKJames 8 лет назад

for the cathode I used a wire mesh with charcoal glued to

@NurdRage 13 лет назад

@canadafreakazoid whats wrong with it?

@tymartinez3166 7 лет назад

Always wanted to learn chemistry, and how electronics work. Never learned anything about it can you point me to some material for beginners that isn't so boring it would cause me to give up?

@NurdRage 13 лет назад

@steaknkibble perhaps in your country, not in mine.

@FusionDeveloper 13 лет назад

what can it power and for how long? (hope this wasn't asked already) like a small light or a small fan maybe? Volts: 0.23 Current: >20milliamps If you made a bigger one, would you get more power, like a 5 gallon bucket, a few containers of salt, some rolls of foil and a few bags of steel wool?

@pakiplayer421 13 лет назад

@NurdRage Can You make a video demonstrating the differences between electrolytic and voltaic cells? Its an important topic on the DAT and MCAT. I always get confused on which is anode and cathode. I just know the rule is Reduction is always the cathode, even if its negative. Oh and if you decide to do it, do it before the 24th, as my test is on the 25th :) Also, this is a covered topic so your video would be different (from others) with a real setup as shown in this video vs. just a diagram.

@NurdRage 13 лет назад

@interpird350 that applies to electrolytic cells, not batteries.

@THETOMANATOR2 13 лет назад

@NurdRage It comes from a misprint on a packing crate. It is Aluminium due to the agreement between UK and USA scientific communities to adjust Sulphur to Sulfur, as per the American spelling, in order to get Americans to pronounce Aluminium correctly.

@spiff873 13 лет назад

@edv177 Probably there's enough moisture lingering in the glue to maintain some ion mobility. But water isn't an absolute requirement for an electrochemical reaction to occur. For the very coolest perpetual battery ever made, google the Oxford Electric Bell. Might help if you also read Wikipedia's 'History of the Battery'.

@skaraoschi 13 лет назад

just an idea.... what if instead of water you use hydrogen peroxide? i think the reaction should be faster and independent of ambient air and i think it should work as well with zinc (because of some laws i can not put my hands on some H2O2 of higher concentration than 5 % commercially ) please give a reply