An easy way to make hydrogen is to pass current through water. The materials required for producing the gas at home are limited to a few, with salt water and lantern battery being the main supplies. While doing this, you should know how to make correct connections of the terminals, so that two separate gases - oxygen and hydrogen are produced simultaneously. Go through the instructions given below and learn how to make homemade hydrogen.
Making Hydrogen Gas
Things Required
- Pencil
- Sharpener
- Lantern Battery (greater than 1.5 volts)
- Wire
- Jar full of tap water
- Cylinder
- Electrical tape
- Small piece of cardboard
Procedure
- Cut a pencil into two halves. Sharpen both ends of both the pencils in order to expose the graphite.
- Attach once end of the wire to the tip of each half of the pencil. Tape the wire down, by holding it against the pencil.
- Secure the other end of the wire to the terminals of a lantern battery. Twist the metal fibers, present in the coil, so that the wire is attached to the battery firmly.
- Pour water in a jar. Place the cardboard on the jar. Punch small holes in the cardboard, and push the pencils through the holes.
- Make sure that only their tips touch the water.
- After a minute or two, small bubbles will start forming the tips of the pencils. .
- Hydrogen bubbles will form on the tip connected to the negative battery terminal , while oxygen bubbles will form on the other tip
- You can collect the hydrogen gas in a cylinder.
