Bleach Battery Powered LED Lights

Implementation of a Battery made from Common Household Materials

Abrenilla, Joshua Abraham T.1, Lobrigas, Jake C.2
Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering
University of San Carlos Technological Center
Talamban, Cebu City, Philippines
1
joshieabre@gmail.com, 2j.lobrigas0486@gmail.com
Abstract Batteries can be constructed using common
household materials. Through chemistry we are able to create
electricity with our common household materials: When acids
are present in a solution, ions are produced. When two dissimilar
metals are introduced into the solution, an electric current forms
between them, producing electricity. This document contains the
procedures, results and data, and also the theory behind creating
a battery using a simple bleach. The data recorded are obtained
after testing the project made with LED lights connected in series
with each other. This project aims to power up LED lights
without the use of the electricity from power grids in order to
provide lighting in hard to reach areas especially in isolated
places or with the occurrence of a brownout, an alternative way
to produce light is made. This measures the voltage produced,
and the time of the discharge for a bleach battery with seven cells
that has been able to produce a maximum voltage output of
12.30V. A chlorine battery is a simple battery that can be made
with common household items. It is created by using a glass of
bleach and water, with one copper and one aluminum strip in
each cup, then connecting an alligator clip from each copper to
each aluminum piece.
KeywordsBatteries, ions, bleach, LED, electricity, lights,
chlorine, aluminum, copper

I. INTRODUCTION/ MOTIVATION
In the society we live in, various ways are being made in
order to innovate and be resourceful with the materials we
have.This modern world runs basically on energy and to be
specific, electrical energy. This form of energy is that we have
grown so accustomed to be with that without its presence, we
are not able to accomplish lots of stuffs. We have relied so
much on this form energy as we use it in our day to day living
which includes our school, office, and household activities.
Imagine a world without electricity, after society breaks down
and your batteries go dead knowing how to produce your own
electricity will help bring back some of our tools that we rely
on so heavily each and every day. Lighting being one of the
most sought after jobs electricity does so well.
Batteries can power lights, start engines and other stuff so
knowing how to make your own can provide you with usable
electricity which can be used for a varying length of time
depending on the materials used and the load being supplied.

There are many uses for homemade batteries cells.

They are great for Emergency home lighting, as well as
running small motors etc.. In many countries electricity can
only be used for a few hours a day. which affects many people
around the world who live in these areas, there economy just
can't afford to run their power plants for long periods at a time.
Many of these people have to use candles and oil lamps just to
be able to eat or to read a book. We have given away much of
our technology to help many of these people, But there are
still thousands of cities all over the world that cannot afford to
build such machines or they cannot get the parts. This is why
we have introduced our Homemade Battery plans, It is a cheap
alternative energy source for these people to use. Even if they
built small cheap water batteries, these small batteries can still
be used for low lighting which is better than nothing. A good
source for low emergency lighting is the use of a low amp
LED diode, by using a bright L.E.D light in series with a 1
meg resistor connected to any type of battery, you will get a
light source that can last for months! By theory, with the use
of the proper tools that could endure corrosion over the period
of time, if you left the circuit on for 24 hours a day the
batteries would last up to 6 months, and if you use the light
only at night it would last 12 to 14 months.
Batteries are a result of ions moving through a circuit
towards a negative or positive charge. To achieve this, you
need an electrolyte where ions will be present, and a positive
metal (e.g copper) and a negative metal (e.g aluminum foil) in
which the ions will move between the two through the circuit
creating power as they are attracted and repelled by positive
and negative electromagnetic forces. Copper serves as a
positive electrode or cathode and the zinc acts as negative
electrode. These objects work as electrodes causing an
electrochemical reaction the generates a small potential
difference. The salt water becomes an electrolyte which is a
chemical medium the lets the flow of electricity pass through
the cathode to the anode. An electrode is an electronic
conductor connected to a non metallic part of a circuit.
Electrodes are referred as either the anode or cathode in an
electrochemical cell. The anode is the electrode where current
leaves the cell and oxidation happens. On the other hand the
cathode is where current enters the cell and reduction happen.

II. OBJECTIVES
This experiment aims to:
Hypothesize what will happen, and how will a combination
of bleach, copper, and aluminum foil be able to produce
enough voltage and current to power up LED lights
Construct and use a prototype that shows how the set-up is
being made that enabled the LED to power up, and record the
data obtained from the set-up which includes parameters such
as voltage, ampere, and discharge time
Prepare a brief summary of the activity, including a
description of the set-up and what occurred when it was tested.
Draw a conclusion comparing their hypotheses to what was
observed in the activity.
Propose an application

We give them that path when we connect two strips

of different metals with a wire. The electrons then flow
through that wire, creating an electric current.
From this, we would explain the chemical reaction
that takes place during the process of creating the bleach
battery. Usually the more electricity a reaction produces the
more likely that reaction will occur first. Aluminum has great
potential:
Al3+ + 3e
<---> Al (s) -1.66 V
and

the

At the location where the water and metal meet, some

of the metal atoms are attracted to the negative side of the
water molecules. This attraction allows the metal atom to
leave one or more of its electrons behind in the metal strip,
and others to move into the water.
Because of this movement of electrons a metal atom
is left with a very small negative electric charge. This tiny
charge does not pull very much on the metal ion that has left
the strip. But since there are huge numbers of atoms at the
surface of the metal strip, and an enormous number of metal
ions are in the water at any given time the metal strip ends up
with a slight negative charge. Some metals hold on to their
atoms more tightly than others. This means that some metal
strips will become more negative when placed in water than
others do.
If one metal strip has more extra electrons than
another strip of a dissimilar metal, the extra electrons will flow
from the first strip to the second, until they both have the same
charge and equal each other out. However, before the electrons
can flow from one strip to the other, they need a conductive
path.

aluminum

reaction

of

interest

is:

Al(OH)3(s) + 3e
<---> Al(s) + 3OH -2.31V
With a negative voltage this infers the strength or how
strongly the reaction wants to go from right to left. To help
convince you a little on this, look up to the chart where

III. HOW BLEACH BATTERY WORKS?

Metal atoms are held together by electrical attractions
between the nuclei and the electrons around the atoms. When
you place a strip of metal which is aluminum foil in our case,
in a glass of water, the water molecules interact with the metal
atoms on the surface of the strip. Water molecules are polar,
which means that one side is slightly positive, and the other
side is slightly negative. This is because the two hydrogen
atoms are not on opposite sides of the oxygen atom, but are
instead about 105 apart. The hydrogen side is positive, and
the oxygen side is negative.

other

Na+ + e <---> Na(s) -2.71V.

When you throw a chunk of sodium metal into water
it practically explodes, so that reaction definitely proceeds
from
right
to
left.
Back to aluminum. The aluminum hydroxide reaction has
even more potential to happen than the aluminum metal itself.
The hydroxide has -2.30V versus the aluminum's -1.66 V.
The water itself provides the OH- ions to make the
aluminum hydroxide as what was explained earlier. Aluminum
metal normally won't react with water because the molten
metal almost instantly forms a tough aluminum oxide coating
at its surface when it cools. This oxide protects further attack
of
the
aluminum
element.
But when you put it in bleach the hypochlorite ion
attacks that oxide coating and allows the OH- ions of water to
get at the aluminum and begin to oxidize it. The aluminum
oxidizes by giving up three electrons and falls into the solution
as Al+++ which immediately unites with the OH- of the water
to give Al(OH)3.
Al(OH)3(s) + 3e
<---> Al(s) + 3OH
But aluminum hydroxide is insoluble in water , so this
precipitates
to
the
bottom
of
the
cell.
At the same time you also have multiple other reactions
occurring.
The bleach itself reacts with the aluminum metal:
NaOCl + Al AlO + NaCl
and also :
NaOCl + H2O + Al = Al(OH)2 + NaCl

The copper's potential is weak compared to the

aluminum which is why it reduces and aluminum oxidizes
even though they are both metals. Looking at the table:
Cu2+ + 2e
<---> Cu(s) +0.340V
The voltage is positive so this reaction wants to go from left to
right. But the copper metal is already reduced (the metal is
considered
"reduced"
as
it
has
no
charge).
Only copper ions in solution will reduce to the copper
electrode. Since the aluminum is less noble than copper, the
aluminum electrons go into the copper metal and kick off the
weaker copper metal forcing it to be an ion. The copper
electrode just serves as a receptacle for the negative charges.
Al the positive ions in solution , including the Cu++ ions what
were etched out from the Cl- ions try to plate out onto the
copper but generally at the copper electrode (the reduction
side) the Cl ions become chlorine gas Cl2 and maybe some H2
gas.

Fig.1-A Using Aluminum Coke Can as Container

IV. MATERIALS
The materials used in the implementation of this experiment
are the following:
Digital Multimeter
Plastic Cups/ Any Container that can be used as your
cell
Bleach (NaClO) or Sodium Hypochlorite
Copper Wires/ Bar
Aluminum Foil
Water
LED
Used Tupperware
Electrical Tape
Soda Bottle
Digital Multimeter will be used in measuring the
output voltage and current of the bleach battery constructed.
The materials used can be any form of bleach. This project
aims to produce a bleach battery which has at least 10V,
which means that a single cell (container) won't be enough
since it can only produce utmost 1.5V, which resulted for this
project to make use of seven(7) cells thus, requiring 7
containers that will serve as a cell for the bleach battery.
V. METHODOLOGY
You can make a 1.5 volt battery by placing a copper
wire and an aluminum foil in a cup of bleach. And then
connect them above the solution with a piece of wire. This
will serve as one of your cells for your battery. The wire is
now transferring electricity at approximately volts from one
bar
to
the
other.

Fig.1-B A Single Cell Set-up that Makes use of Bleach

The more bleach the more amps you get and the faster the bars
will corrode. Tip: A teaspoon of bleach to one gallon of water
will allow this simple small battery to last for about three
months. That is, if you are using the powdered bleach, for
this experiment we used the bleach solution which can be
bought in local stores. The Aluminum and copper will last a
long time. Every three months you will need to empty the
water and lightly sand the copper bars. Again the more bleach
per gallon of water the quicker this will be needed but the
more
amps
you
get.
This simple battery by itself doesn't power anything so rigging
multiple batteries in series will be required to get usable
power. Try to improve on this setup by creating multiple cells
and connecting them in series in order to produce greater
power battery. The only extra step is you must prevent the
copper bar from touching the can. Otherwise the electricity
generated
will simply by pass your
wire.
You can use 7 plastic cups/ containers wired in series to
provide 12 volts of DC electricity. Many electrical lights and
tools run either on 12 DC or 120 volt AC current. Batteries

produce DC current so keep that in mind when scrounging for

lights to scavenge. Car lights are 12 volt DC lights and home
lighting is 120 volt AC. Each of the 7 containers in this set-up
is 70 ml, each producing at least 1.30V, this is varied due to
the difference in the exposed surface area of the copper wire
since the length of the copper wire exposed to each of the
bleach solution isn't equal. The more surface area exposed, the
higher the voltage it produces and the faster the copper
corrodes thus, resulting in the cell to quickly discharge.

Design the set-up so it will look aesthetic, by taping

the bottles using the electrical tape, also prepare the base that
will cover the tops of your bottle, the LED will be placed here
later.

Fig.2 7-cell Bleach Battery producing 12.38 V

Fig.4 Preparing the Set-up

To wire the bottles in series you simply connect the

positive post (copper) of one can via electical wire to the can
next to it. Connect all seven cans like this in a line and then
measure the electricity that flows from the first and last can by
connecting the can on one end to the copper wire on the other.
See the picture below. The picture above shows 7 bottles.
So there you have it. Copper and aluminium and the wire will
be readily available. The bleach is the only component that
isn't easily replaced. So stockpiling bleach for this and other
uses is a good idea. LED lights are way more efficient than
incandescent light bulb and they are the longest lasting bulbs
easily outlasting even flourescent lights.

Fig.5 Constructing the platform for the LED

Do the necessary procedures at the bottles in which
you need to create each cell using the steps mentioned
previously which involves the bleach, copper wires, and
aluminum foil. Place the platform above the constructed cells
of the battery. Configure and design it that you will know the
positive and negative terminals of your battery.
Fig.3 Construction of the Set-up with LED testing

Test the bleach battery by connecting the positive and negative

terminals of the battery to the proper connections with the
LED.

Fig.6 Platform for the LED placed above the bleach

battery set-up
Place the LED in the hole provided in the platform.

Fig.9-A LED powered-up by Bleach Battery

Fig.7 LED already intact in the platform

Place a water bottle above the LED in order to provide
protection from the LED and have it glow brighter.

Fig.8 Bottle Placed above the LED

Fig.9-B LED Power-up by Bleach Battery with no

Background Lighting

VI. DATA AND RESULTS

Number of Cells
1
2
3
4
5
6
7

Output Voltage (V)

1.4
2.9
4.27
5.82
7.5
9.83
12.30

Fig.11 Bleach Battery Discharge

Fig.10 Number of Cells Vs. Output Voltage

It can be observed that as time increases, the output

voltage decreases this is due to the corrosion of the copper as
it reacts with the bleach. It loses its potential as it corrodes
resulting in a decrease in its output voltage until it becomes
completely depleted and a replacement should be made in
order to have another bleach battery. The figure below shows
the effects of corrosion to the copper wire, the copper wire
unexposed to bleach remains the same while after soaking the
copper wire for more or less than 10 hours it becomes darker
and darker.

From the data gathered, the output voltage was

measured for each cell added in series. It can be observed that
the increase in output voltage is not constant in each battery
cell added, this is due to the fact that each copper wire used in
a set-up is distinct from one another which means that no two
copper wires have the same surface area exposed, this has
caused a change in its output voltages. However, the trend
follows that can increase in the number of cells causes an
increase in the output voltage. The difference between the
output voltage of the sixth and seventh cells is quite larger
compared to the other set-ups this is due to the copper wire
used for this set-up in which it has the most surface area
exposed to the bleach among all the set-ups.

Time(Hou
rs)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

Output
Voltage(V)
12.2
12
11.82
11.63
11.49
11.32
11.15
11.03
10.84
10.69

Fig.12 Effects of Corrosion,

encouragement, insights and constructive criticism which

proved very useful throughout the process.
CONCLUSION
From this project made, it has been shown that it is
possible to create a homemade battery using our common
household materials such as bleach, copper wires, and
aluminum foil. A single cell of 70ml container is able to
produce a voltage of approximately 1.5V having it connected
in series with 7 containers produces an output voltage of
12.3V with a current of 1mA which is enough to power up an
LED, and also a series of LEDs which was tested by powering
up an LED circuit that contains a series of LEDs. Due to the
chemical reaction taking place between the materials being
used, electricity is produced and hence, powering-up the LED.
The bleach battery was tested for 10 hours and its results were
recorded. This is used to measure and know the trend in the
bleach battery discharge, it can be observed that much like a
normal battery- its output voltage decreases after continuous
use, until such that it is completely depleted and hence, a
replacement should be made.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
First and foremost, the researchers would like to
express their sincerest gratitude their mentor, Engr. Jaybee
Lacea, for giving them the opportunity to conduct and push
through with this research, for imparting them with kind
words of motivation and immense knowledge. The researchers
would also like to thank their parents and friends - the very
people who have provided them with the right amount of

Especially to the friends who have always been there

to give their support despite having difficulties too with their
personal projects. They never hesitated to offer some help and
show their support to the researchers. To the experts who were
involved in the validation of this research project, thank you.
Without their passionate participation and input, this research
would not have been successfully conducted. Last but not the
least, a million thanks to The Lord God Almighty. Praise be
Jesus for being the ultimate strength and bestowing upon the
researchers the will power to achieve. It is through him that
they are able with wisdom and moral values that allowed them
to think and perform with all honesty and credibility. A
thousand times Amen!
REFERENCES
[1]

http://jafty.com/how-to-make-batteries-at-home/

[2]

http://www.survival-manual.com/homemade-battery.php

[3]

Giancoli, Douglas C. (1998). Physics: Principles with

Applications(Fifth ed.). pp. 623624..

[4]

Harris, William; Levey, Judith, eds. (1975). The New

Columbia Encyclopedia (4th ed.). New York City:
Columbia University. p. 155. ISBN 0-231035-721..