Parts sources

Researched 2026-10-10. Prices are what each listing or search result showed at that time. They change, so check before ordering. Several lab suppliers sell only to businesses or registered labs; those are marked (lab/business only).

Item numbers match the bill of materials in the blueprints (cell-module-blueprints.html).

Active materials

MnO₂, 455 g per cell (item 3)

Option	Source	Listed price	Notes
Battery grade, zinc-ion specific	MTI ZIB-MnO2	$158 / 100 g	α, β or γ phase. γ (or α) suits Zn-MnO₂ best. ~$720 per cell at this price; use it for the first test cell only, or ask MTI for a bulk quote.
Lab grade	Lab Alley, lab grade / purified / granular	100 g, 500 g, 2.5 kg sizes	Purity and phase not specified as battery grade. Ask for a certificate of analysis.
Lab grade, 500 g	Calpac Lab (Innovating Science)	$62.14 / 500 g	(lab/business only)
99%, 200 mesh	Nanografi	Quote	Marketed for pigments. Phase not stated.
Pottery grade (cheapest, risky)	Potclays (UK), Potterycrafts (UK)	~£3.62–4.34 / kg	Usually natural ore with iron and other impurities. Expect much lower capacity. Not recommended for the test cell.
Industrial EMD	Tosoh, Prince/Erachem, Tronox and other EMD producers	Quote	Sold in bulk only. Ask for a sample or a 1–5 kg lot and a certificate of analysis.

When buying, look for the words electrolytic manganese dioxide (EMD) or battery grade, γ‑MnO₂, a certificate of analysis with low iron, and a particle size of about 20–50 µm.

Carbon powder, 152 g per cell (item 3)

Option	Source	Listed price	Notes
Super P conductive carbon	MTI Super P 35 g / 80 g	$88.86 / 35 g; $99 / 80 g	Best conductivity per gram but very bulky. ~$190 per cell using 80 g bags.
Super P	Thermo Scientific via Fisher, GovSci, VWR	25 g / 100 g	(lab/business only)
Synthetic graphite, 7–11 µm	Alfa Aesar via Capitol Scientific, Fisher	250 g	Much cheaper per gram. Good choice to blend, for example 20% graphite + 5% Super P.
Synthetic graphite, < 20 µm	Sigma-Aldrich 282863	1 kg
Graphite lubricant powder	Dixon Microfyne 1 lb	$22.49 / lb (out of stock when checked)	Cheapest. Not confirmed synthetic or high purity.

PTFE binder, about 24 g solids per cell (≈ 40 g of 60% dispersion)

Source	Listed price	Notes
Polysciences Teflon 30B, 60%	$61.50 (size not shown in result)	Listed for battery anode and cathode binder use.
Fuel Cell Store, Teflon DISP 30	from $92.00	60% solids.
MTI EQ-Lib-PTFE, 360 g	$198 / 360 g	Enough for about 9 cells.

Zinc sheet, 0.2 mm, 6 plates of 160 × 140 mm per cell (item 4)

Source	Listed price	Notes
Bigamart, 5 × 100 × 100 × 0.2 mm, 99.9%	$43.99	Too small for a 160 × 140 plate. Fine for small test coupons only.
Amazon (via CherryPicks roundup)	$7.49–35.70	Includes 140 × 140 mm, 0.2 mm, 99.9% plates. Still slightly short of 160 mm.
eBay 99.99% zinc strip, 0.2 × 150 × 1000 mm (listing)	Varies	A 1 m strip makes 6 plates if you accept 150 mm plate height, or buy a 200 mm wide strip.
Lab foil: Advent 0.25 mm 99.99%, Fisher 0.62 mm	Quote	0.25 mm is a close match. Ask about 300 mm width.
Roofing zinc (titanium-zinc, e.g. VMZinc or Rheinzink)	Local roofing supplier	Usually 0.65 mm or thicker, and alloyed with Cu/Ti. Not recommended without testing.

Action: look for 0.2–0.25 mm zinc at least 170 mm wide (a roll or 300 × 300 mm sheet). If you can only get 150 mm, change the plate size to 150 × 140 in the design.

Electrolyte salts, per 400 mL: 230 g ZnSO₄·7H₂O + 6.76 g MnSO₄·H₂O (item 14)

Item	Source	Listed price	Notes
Zinc sulfate heptahydrate	Lab Alley, lab grade, 2.5 kg	$158.40 / 2.5 kg	Enough for about 10 cells. Not ACS grade.
Zinc sulfate heptahydrate, ACS	Thermo Scientific	$68.65 / 500 g	Higher purity. (lab/business only)
Zinc sulfate heptahydrate, ≥99%	Sigma Z4750-2.5KG via Capitol Scientific, Calpac (bioWORLD)	2.5 kg	Calpac is (lab/business only).
Manganese sulfate monohydrate, 99%	Fisher / Thermo AAA1761536	$83.65 / 500 g	Enough for about 70 cells. A 100 g size would do. Thermo lists it as suitable for battery materials development.
Manganese sulfate monohydrate	Sigma M7899	Quote

A cheaper route is agricultural or feed-grade zinc sulfate and manganese sulfate from farm suppliers. They are usually 98% and may contain iron, so test it in a single cell first.

Separator

PP felt, 5 envelopes of 165 × 290 mm, about 1.2 mm thick (item 5)

Source	Notes
McMaster-Carr polypropylene felt	Thinnest standard sheet is 1/16" (1.6 mm, 0.75 lb/yd²). Compressing it to 0.88 mm is 45%, more than the planned 27%. A chemical-resistant PP filter felt is also listed at about 0.07" (1.8 mm, 5 µm rating).
Hebei Huaren Felt via Accio	Offers PP felt in 1, 2, 3 and 4 mm. 100 m minimum order. Ask for a sample.
Chinese PP needle-felt makers (Fibre2Fashion listings)	500 m² minimums, but free samples. A sample is enough for many cells.

Action: for the first cell, use McMaster 1/16" felt and accept the higher compression, or ask Huaren or a filter-media maker for a free 1 mm sample.

Felt wetting agent: Triton X-100

Source	Listed price
Fisher BioReagents BP151-100, 100 mL	$68.65 (promo)
Thermo Scientific AAA16046AE	Quote
Abbexa	$145 / 100 mL

100 mL is enough for hundreds of cells at 0.1–0.5% in isopropyl alcohol.

Cellophane barrier, optional (item 15)

Source	Notes
Jam-pot covers: Tala, eBay 100 × 12.7 cm discs, Fowlers Kleerview	Usually plain, uncoated cellophane. Discs are too small (12.7 cm) for a 165 × 300 envelope. Use only to test.
Innovia / Futamura uncoated film, e.g. Cellophane 600P, via Futamura	The right material (uncoated, permeable). Ask a distributor for a sample roll. Avoid coated films (nitrocellulose or PVDC coated).
Regenerated-cellulose dialysis tubing (lab suppliers)	Pure regenerated cellulose, known to work as a zinc-battery separator. Slit it open into flat sheet.

Current collectors and terminals

Titanium mesh, 5 × 160 × 140 mm with tabs (item 3a)

Source	Notes
Stanford Advanced Materials, titanium mesh	Expanded, woven or perforated, Gr 1/2/4, 0.3–2.0 mm thick, 1000 mm wide. 0.2 mm on request. 0.3 mm is fine: it just leaves slightly less cathode mix per plate.
IndiaMART, TradeIndia (Metal Vision, 0.5 mm Gr 2)	Quote.
Amazon/eBay "titanium mesh sheet" (e.g. 200 × 300 mm)	Often sold for electrolysis and plating anodes. Cheap, but check the grade.

Cheaper alternative: 316 stainless woven mesh from Online Metals (cut to size) or Woven Wire 12 × 12 mesh, 0.023" wire. Stainless can corrode slowly at the cathode, but it welds to brass.

Titanium strap and + lug (items 6, 8)

Source	Notes
McMaster-Carr grade 2 titanium bars and Gr 2 sheet	Cut a 4 × 25 mm lug and a 22 × 6 × 3 mm strap from 1/8" (3.2 mm) or 0.16" sheet or bar.
Tiger Titanium CP Gr 2 bar	Sold by the inch. Ask for 1/8" × 1" flat.
Alcobra Metals Gr 2 sheet 0.040"	Thin sheet. Stack or fold it for tabs.
Online Metals	Also sells Gr 2 flat bar with cut-to-length service.

Brass strap and − lug, nickel-plated (items 7, 9)

Item	Source	Notes
Brass bar 1/8" × 3/4"	Online Metals #1362	Custom cut. 3.2 × 19 mm. Use it for both the strap and the lug.
Brass flat stock	Zoro, Track of the Wolf	Alternatives.
Nickel plating	Caswell Plug N' Plate nickel kit	Brush plating. Enough for many lugs.

M6 nuts and bolts, 316 stainless (item 10)

Source	Notes
Bolt Depot / McMaster-Carr	Small quantities, US. Search "M6 hex nut 316 DIN 934" and "M6 × 12 / M6 × 10 hex cap screw 316".
Fastener Superstore 576801	Cartons of 5,000 (~$0.11 each). For pack-scale builds.
Kimball Midwest M6 × 12 hex cap screw	25-pack. Login for price. Confirm it is 316.

Seals, vent, fill port

Item	Source	Notes
EPDM sheet for gaskets and sleeves (item 11)	Zoro 1/32" EPDM, 12 × 24"	$5.59–14.75. 1/32" ≈ 0.8 mm. Close to the 0.6 mm sleeve, so open the slot about 0.2 mm in the CAD file.
Epoxy, acid resistant (lid seal, lug wells)	Master Bond EP21AR	Rated for acid immersion and cures at room temperature. Avoid the heat-cured grades because PETG softens near 80 °C. Also see McMaster chemical-resistant glue.
Umbrella vent valve, 1.5–2.5 psi (item 12)	Air Logic umbrella check valves	Designed for < 2 psi cracking. Ask for an EPDM umbrella.
	Parker umbrella valves	EPDM available. Ask for 1.5–2.5 psi. Get the stem and seat dimensions, then update `vent_*` in `cell_module_case.scad`.
Fill plug, M16 × 1.5 (item 13)	Phoenix Contact M16 polyamide plug, EPDM O-ring (RS)	IP68. Best match.
	McMaster metric-thread knockout plugs	Nylon M16 × 1.5, IP68.
	Essentra threaded O-ring plug	Nylon 6/6. Packs of 500.

Case

Item	Source	Notes
Natural PETG, 1.75 mm, 1 kg	eSUN PETG175N1 (DigiKey)	1 kg makes about 6 cell cases.
	Jabil JA3D-C1001032 natural PETG (DigiKey)	About $29 / kg.

Revised cost per cell (from these sources)

The first estimate ($60–150) assumed bulk or commodity prices. Small lab-supply prices are much higher.

Route	MnO₂	Carbon	Other parts	Approx. per cell
Lab-grade test cell (MTI EMD + Super P)	~$720	~$190	~$100–150	~$1,000+
Mixed (lab-grade MnO₂ from Lab Alley or Calpac + graphite/Super P blend)	~$60–120	~$30–60	~$100–150	~$200–330
Bulk (EMD sample lot from a producer + synthetic graphite)	~$10–25	~$5–15	~$60–100	~$75–140

Recommendation:

Build the first cell with the mixed route, using small amounts of MTI EMD in a coupon-size test to compare against cheaper MnO₂.
Ask EMD producers for a sample lot before building the full 10-cell pack.

Starting amounts (one test cell, with spare):

About 600 g MnO₂
100 g graphite plus 35–80 g Super P
1 bottle of PTFE dispersion
1 roll or sheet of zinc at least 170 mm wide
500 g zinc sulfate and 100–500 g manganese sulfate
1 m² PP felt
0.15 m² titanium mesh
Small titanium and brass bar
10 M6 nuts and bolts
EPDM sheet, epoxy, 2 umbrella valves, 2 fill plugs, 1 kg PETG