TriiodideFrog
Hazard to Others
Posts: 108
Registered: 27-9-2020
Member Is Offline
|
|
How to build a cheap and durable electrolytic cell
Hi
Does anyone know how to build a cheap and durable electrolytic cell (under USD 10 ) that can be used for electrolysis of different chemicals. Thanks
in advance!
|
|
|
B(a)P
International Hazard
Posts: 1139
Registered: 29-9-2019
Member Is Offline
Mood: Festive
|
|
Woelen has a great description on their web site.
https://woelen.homescience.net/science/chem/exps/miniature_c...
Obviously if you went with platinum electrodes your $10 would be blown out of the water, but you can cheaply source carbon rods from zinc batteries or
gouging rods.
For a power source you can use one from an old PC, they work well and if you keep your eyes open you can get them quite cheap.
There are also heaps of threads on this topic on SM.
|
|
|
Junk_Enginerd
Hazard to Others
Posts: 251
Registered: 26-5-2019
Location: Sweden
Member Is Offline
|
|
A mug? There's not much more to it. Then there's the electrodes, and what they need to be made of is entirely dependent on what you're wanting to
achieve. Stainless steel works for a lot of things, especially in alkaline conditions.
|
|
|
mysteriusbhoice
Hazard to Others
Posts: 477
Registered: 27-1-2016
Member Is Offline
Mood: Became chemistry catboy Vtuber Nyaa
|
|
10 USD uhhh well just get a plastic bottle or a mug and a popsicle stick and drill 2 holes and for power supply if you have an old PC power supply its
basically free otherwise maybe use a bunch of D cell batteries for 4.5v in series parallel configuation.
|
|
|
Heptylene
Hazard to Others
Posts: 319
Registered: 22-10-2016
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
|
|
It really depends on what you want to do. When I started in the hobby, I used plastic containers, copper and carbon electrodes. For the power supply,
I like to use wall warts, you can get them for free in the electronics dumpster at your local recycling center/supermarket
A neat material is flower pots, they can make nice porous separators between two electrolytes
|
|
|
TriiodideFrog
Hazard to Others
Posts: 108
Registered: 27-9-2020
Member Is Offline
|
|
Do you get your carbon electrodes from batteries?
|
|
|
B(a)P
International Hazard
Posts: 1139
Registered: 29-9-2019
Member Is Offline
Mood: Festive
|
|
I have tried carbon rods from zinc 6 V lantern batteries and carbon gouging rods. The gouging rods performed better (sloughed less carbon) and are
more easily made usable as an electrode, as you don't have to extract them from the battery packaging and mess of magnesium oxide, just a thin layer
of copper.
|
|
|
itsallgoodjames
Hazard to Others
Posts: 276
Registered: 31-8-2020
Location: America Lite
Member Is Offline
|
|
I wouldn't even bother with electrodes sourced from batteries. They tend to just flake apart, even with super low currents. Just get some gouging
rods and dissolve away the copper. They perform quite well and last a long time.
Nuclear physics is neat. It's a shame it's so regulated...
Now that I think about it, that's probably a good thing. Still annoying though.
|
|
|
symboom
International Hazard
Posts: 1143
Registered: 11-11-2010
Location: Wrongplanet
Member Is Offline
Mood: Doing science while it is still legal since 2010
|
|
Here is an interesting video
https://youtu.be/-PL32ea0MqM
Also about Calcium antimony battery
|
|
|
![[*]](images/xpblue/default_icon.gif){kind=icon}
