I would like to produce low concentrations of ozone through electrolysis of water. The standard setup to do this uses a graphite electrode and a platinum electrode in an $\ce{H2SO4}$ solution. However, I'd like to produce the ozone using only water and preferably using inexpensive electrodes. I don't seem to understand the exact chemistry of this, though. I'd like to know:
If I use different electrodes, what changes? I'm currently using zinc and graphite and, other than the fact that the zinc degrades, is there any downside to using it?
The $\ce{H2SO4}$ solution, I expect, increases the conductivity of the water, is that right? Why is it used? What if I don't use it?
How can I go about detecting the ozone in the water? When I run my system I seem to smell something ozone-y, but I'd like a much less subjective method than that.