The Magnesium-Air battery operates with an AZ31 alloy anode, air cathode, and a Magnesium electrolyte compound. The reaction mechanism is:

      Anode:        Mg_(s) → Mg²⁺_(aq) + 2e^-                               E° = +2.37 V

      Cathode:     O_{2 (g)} + 2H₂O_(l) + 4e^- → 4OH^-                      E° = +0.73 V

      Overall:       2Mg_(s) + O_{2 (g)} + 2H₂O_(l) → 2Mg(OH)_2(s)     E° = +3.1 V

The main focus for this year is to optimize the performance of the electrolyte compound in order to maximize the longevity and energy density of the cell. In doing so, we shall be testing various Magnesium electrolytes as well as organic solvents for the electrochemical systems.

We are developing a lead-acid battery to power our car. The chemical energy in a lead-acid battery is stored in the potential difference between the two lead plates (PbSO₄ and PbO₂), and our goal is to harness this energy to provide power to the motor of our car. Some of the projects we are working on are determining optimal cell arrangement, characterizing energy and power density, and cycling degradation.

The hottest and coolest team in ChemE Car! The Thermoelectric team uses Thermoelectric Generators (TEGs) which produce electric energy when sandwiched between a hot side (boiling water/sulfite reaction) and a cold side (acetone + dry ice). Our current goal is to collect swaths of data to create calibration curves for our design and to investigate novel configurations and optimizations for TEGs.

The aluminum air battery is a non-rechargeable battery with a very high energy density. The anode consists of an aluminum sheet, which is separated from the cathode, a carbon paste, via filter paper. The whole cell is wetted with KOH electrolyte. Multiple of these cells are stacked up in series to produce a power output large enough to power the car. Our teams current goals are to explore different anode materials, electrolyte additives and optimizing the gas diffusion layer.

The zinc-air battery team has been part of chemE car for several years and performed at both the regional and national competitions. The components of the battery include a zinc anode, a carbon-based cathode that captures oxygen from air, and potassium hydroxide electrolyte. Our main goals for this year include researching and testing new improvements to our battery while focusing on calibration and consistency to excel at competition.

Our team uses a novel Fe (VI) salt to replace the MnO₂ cathode in conventional (Zn-MnO₂) alkaline battery. This 'Super' Iron setup has been reported to have a 25% increase in energy output than its conventional counterpart. Our experimental battery team strives to achieve these results in the lab and create a battery that is chemically superior to the current ones being used on the car. If you want to be involved with hands-on research and be part of a superior battery team- look no further. For questions and concerns, please feel free to reach out to Ashu and Rohit.

The zinc-carbon battery is an old, cheap battery chemistry. This battery is based around the basic reaction Zn + MnO₂ → ZnO + Mn₂O₃, but in reality, the reaction gets much more complicated depending on the electrolyte composition and the discharge level. Our team will be investigating several factors that allow us to optimize the performance of our battery for the intended applications, including electrolyte composition, amounts of zinc corrosion inhibitor added, the carbon to MnO₂ ratio in the cathode, and more!

A new experimental clock team, Sulfur Clock uses the reaction between sodium thiosulfate and hydrochloric acid to form a sulfur precipate, changing the reacting solution's transparency. While this is one method of experimentation, we will also be testing properties of the reaction. Our goals for the semester are to establish a calibration curve for our reaction, and conduct research on other potential forms of stopping mechanisms.

Chemiluminescence is a clock team, which means that our project involves perfecting a chemical reaction system which can send a relay signal to the battery to start and stop the car within the desired time period. For this, we need a robust calibration curve in order to exactly determine how long our chemical reaction should last. Luminol when oxidized by bleach will glow and when it stops glowing, a photo-sensor will detect the absence of light and turn off the circuit.

Our team takes advantage of the catalytic decomposition of hydrogen peroxide via the catalase enzyme. This reaction produces oxygen, pushing a viscous fluid through a tube, sending a message to the car to stop. Catalase is one of the fastest and most impressive enzymes known to man, and can be found in almost all living things. We currently blend up spinach as our source of catalase, but hope to look into other sources this year. One advantage of enzymatic clock is that all materials involved are completely safe and environmentally friendly, and thus requires no advanced waste handling. Our goals for the year include improving the reaction aparatus in order to stop leaking, and to create a very accurate calibration curve for the timing of the reaction.

The electrical team devises ways of converting the Control Teams’ data into voltages so that we can determine whether the car should be running or not. Using this data, we turn on and off the power supplied by the Power & Battery Teams to the motor. Currently, we are trying to convert to using an Arduino Nano, as well as increasing data collection for the different teams by measuring voltage and current from the batteries as well as measuring the time it takes to go a certain distance to calculate a more accurate velocity.