Conclusions: We have successfully created a greener battery From our experimentation we found that the presence of Zinc Nitrate was redundant and was eliminated from further studies. We replaced Potassium Chloride with common table salt (Sodium Chloride). Optimized concentrations of Sodium Chloride resulted in significantly higher power density than Potassium Chloride. Our final greener battery uses Copper Sulfate with Common Salt as electrolyte. A GREENER BATTERY! Experiment: This home built battery uses a Zinc rod for the anode and a Copper rod for the cathode. These rods were inserted into a container at a fixed distance. Two Multimeters were then attached to the rods in order to record current and voltage for 30 minutes Electrolyte effect of Zinc Nitrate: Solution of 0.1M CuSO 4 Solution of 0.1M CuSO 4 and Zn(NO 3 ) 2 Solution of 0.1M CuSO 4 and Zn(NO 3 ) 2 and KCl Solution of 0.1M CuSO 4 and KCl It was determined through this experimentation that Zinc Nitrate was redundant. With the elimination of Zinc Nitrate we then tested different concentrations of Sodium Chloride in place of Potassium Chloride. Abstract: This project is geared towards the design of a greener battery. The current battery design consists of Copper and Zinc electrodes with an electrolyte composition of Copper Sulfate (CuSO 4 ), Zinc Nitrate (Zn(NO 3 ) 2 ), and Potassium Chloride (KCl). The performance of the battery with Copper Sulfate and Potassium Chloride was comparable to the battery with Zinc Nitrate, as such we eliminated use of Zinc Nitrate. Next we attempted to replace Potassium Chloride with a greener solute Sodium Chloride (NaCl), common table salt. We optimized the concentration of NaCl in our batteries. Batteries with optimized concentration of NaCl resulted in significantly higher power density. Our final product – a greener battery, now consists of Zinc and Copper rods with Copper Sulfate and Sodium Chloride as the electrolyte. Introduction: Batteries have a cathode and an anode.  Anode is negatively charged where oxidation leads to the generation of electrons: Zn(s)  Zn 2+ (aq) + 2e -  Cathode is positively charged where reduction leads to consumption of electrons: Cu 2+ (aq) + 2e -  Cu(s)  The overall chemical reaction inside the battery could be represented as: Zn(s)+Cu 2+ (aq)  Zn 2+ (aq) + Cu(s)  Copper Sulfate, Zinc Nitrate, Potassium Chloride, or Sodium Chloride are the electrolytes that transport ions.  Electrons flow through the external circuit. In this study we investigated the following effects: a) Presence and absence of Zinc Nitrate b) Effect of Potassium Chloride vs. Common Salt c) Study the performance of a greener battery References: Cheng, Jie, Yue-Hua Wen, Gao-Ping Cao, and Yu- Sheng Yang. "Influence of Zinc Ions in Electrolytes on the Stability of Nickel Oxide Electrodes for Single Flow Zinc–nickel Batteries." Journal of Power Sources (2011): Print. Mills, Allan A. "Early Voltaic Batteries: An Evaluation in Modern Units and Application to the Work of Davy and Faraday." Annals of Science 60.4 (2003): Print. Acknowledgements : Department of Chemistry and Physics for use of facilities, equipment, and chemicals Salem State University The Frederick A. Meier Science Award My grandfather Michael P. Stiebitz Fig 2: Effect of elimination of Zinc Nitrate on the performance of batteries Fig 3: Effect of replacing KCl with greener table salt, NaCl, on the performance of batteries. Effect of Potassium Chloride vs. Common Salt (Sodium Chloride): Here various concentrations of NaCl were studied to optimize the concentration of NaCl. Solution of 0.1M CuSO 4 and 0.1M KCl Solution of 0.1M CuSO 4 and 0.1M NaCl Solution of 0.1M CuSO 4 and 0.5M NaCl Solution of 0.1M CuSO 4 and 1.0M NaCl Effect of Electrolyte Zinc Nitrate: Effect of Electrolyte Potassium Chloride vs Common Salt: Results and Discussion : Fig 1: Homemade battery with copper cathode and zinc anode attached to multimeters for monitoring the performance Results and Discussion (Continued): Zinc nitrate had no effect when paired with Potassium Chloride Zinc Nitrate was eliminated Common Salt (Sodium Chloride) was considered to replace Potassium Chloride Optimized concentrations of Sodium Chloride: 0.1M, 0.5M, 1.0M NaCl 1.0M NaCl was the optimal concentration of Sodium Chloride