The objective of this experiment was to gain an understanding of the chemical processes involved with converting hydrogen and oxygen into electrical energy through building a fuel cell and allowing the process to occur.
Materials that the group provided me with included: 12 inches of platinum coated nickel wire, a popsicle stick, a 9 volt battery, a 9 volt battery clip, tape, water, and a multi-meter voltage measurer.
Prior to conducting electrical energy, the group had already constructed the fuel cell for me. They had explained that they cut the platinum coated nickel wire in half and winded them into a coiled spring and this represented the electrodes in the fuel cell. Next, they cut the leads off of the battery clip in half and stripped the insulation off of each of the ends of the wires. They then twisted the bare battery leads onto the end of the coiled wire (the electrodes). From there they attached the electrodes to the popsicle stick using tape. To complete the fuel cell, they connected the red wire to the positive terminal of the volt meter and the black to the negative terminal of the meter.
With the fuel cell constructed, I was then instructed to measure the voltage of the fuel cell without the battery being connected and then recorded my results. I then connected the battery to the wires and kept my eye on the voltage meter and recorded the reading of the meter at 15, 30, and 60 second intervals. Next, I disconnected the battery from the wires and again measured the meter at 15, 30, and 60 second intervals and noticed the change in the voltage with the battery disconnected.
My Results:
Initial reading WITHOUT battery: .002
15- 8.92 V
30- 8.94 V
60- 8.96 V
Time (sends) WITHOUT battery:
15- .40 V
30- 99 m/v
60- 79 m/v
When testing for voltage during this experiment, the battery must be touching the battery clip which will cause the electrodes to spilt in the water using hydrogen and oxygen which is called electrolysis. Without the battery attached to the clip, the meter should read zero but in this case, the platinum wire in the water acts as a catalyst making the process easier for the oxygen and hydrogen to combine, therefore my initial reading without the battery was close to zero at .002. The hydrogen and oxygen combine and produce energy which I was able to conduct myself and record the increase in voltage. Since the group provided me with a 9 volt battery, the voltage was not able to exceed 9 volts and came very close to 9 volts at 8.96 volts at my final reading at the 60 second interval. When I had disconnected the electrical current, my recordings of the voltage decreased almost instantly, although the voltage does not go as low as my initial reading of .002 due to the platinum acting as a catalyst.
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