Inexpensive Alkaline Fuel Cell For Introductory Chemistry Classes

Chemical energy storage and use is a critical part of a sustainable world. In this laboratory experiment, students construct and use an inexpensive hydrogen fuel cell to power a calculator or a clock. The reusable cells are prepared from plastic syringes and a nickel mesh that is coated with a palladium metal catalyst by electroless deposition. One syringe is filled with hydrogen gas and the other with air. A sodium hydroxide solution is the bridge between the cells. Students measure the produced voltage and combine two fuel cells to power electronics requiring 1.5 V. The goal is for students to make the connection between theory and practice for symbolic representations of redox reactions and their macroscopic and atomic/molecular interpretations.