Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Hi everyone,
I am making a fuel cell for my science fair. For my topic i need a platinum coated nickel wire which is very costly.
we need nickel wire bcoz it is less resistive and platium coating on it bcoz it acts as an catalyst.
I was wondering whether i use a nickel wire and coil a platinum wire on it which will give a wire of low resistance and platinum at its junction and which will be relatively less expensive.
Should i proceed with it?
Thanks in advance
Harshad Gupta

merc9015 wrote:Hi everyone,
I am making a fuel cell for my science fair. For my topic i need a platinum coated nickel wire which is very costly.
we need nickel wire bcoz it is less resistive and platium coating on it bcoz it acts as an catalyst.
I was wondering whether i use a nickel wire and coil a platinum wire on it which will give a wire of low resistance and platinum at its junction and which will be relatively less expensive.
Should i proceed with it?
Thanks in advance
Harshad Gupta

I don't think this will work. The Pt coated Ni wire will be completely coated with the Pt. If you coil one wire around another wire, this obviously is not the same- there will be gaps between the coiled wire, exposed portions of the Ni wire at the gaps.

However, I don't fully understand your setup. Could you post the actual experimental procedure and a schematic of the elctrochemical circuit?

{ Is pt coated nickel wire really more expensive that nickel and pt wire separately?}

Louise