Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Hi Experts!

I'm new to the forum so I hope this is the right place to post

I'm working on a project making a dry cell battery. My plan is to create it kind of like a layer cake: zinc sheet, paste of MnO2+electrolyte, graphite sheet, metal sheet with wire connected.

What I'm unsure on is the MnO2 and graphite sheets.

When I search online for what type of MnO2 I'll need, all I can find is info on harvesting it from existing batteries. I'm pretty sure the type of MnO2 used for ceramics, like this type, will work, but I'm not sure how fine it needs to be.

For the graphite sheets, I think this is something I can just buy, like this, but I'm not really sure how thick it needs to be. Will .2-.5mm be too thin?

Any advice or thoughts appreciated!

Thank you!

Hello,
The Science Buddies Ask the Expert forums are for students in grades K-12 who are working on science projects. If you are a student in grades K-12 and are working on a science project, please describe your project in more detail, including your hypotheses and the experiments you plan to use to test the hypotheses. Thank you.