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Author Topic: Finally : cheap DIY selfmade solar cell with common materials !  (Read 207024 times)

hartiberlin

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Re: Finally : cheap selfmade solar cell with common materials !
« Reply #30 on: February 28, 2009, 03:26:18 PM »
Hi All,
I am currently experimenting with my graphite paper and
trying to get Silicon ( Si) onto it as a thin layer...
I have used my colloidal silver generator, which is just a
pulser, that pulses about 30 Volts DC onto 2 electrodes.

I have tried to use the graphite paper as one electrode
and a piece of conductable silicon I bought from ebay here:

http://i15.ebayimg.com/01/i/001/33/29/cb15_1.JPG

as the other electrode...

But it seems the silicon is not so soluable as silver...

There is also a small yellowish color in the destilled
water after a few hours, but the colloidal silicon
will not build a layer onto the graphite paper...
I tried both polarities, cause I am not sure,
which polarity I should choose for
the silicon and which for the graphite paper,
but I guess to "electroplate" silicon onto the
graphite paper it needs a better method..
so I should probably better to use
a real silicon salt and then use electroplating to
convert the silicon ions to a real thin siliconlayer
onto the conducting graphite paper electrode...

So what silicon salt should I choose the best and
what should be the other electrode for it in such an electroplating
electrolysis ?

P.S. I also bought 2 real nonconductive silicon plates from
a semicoductor plant:

http://i9.ebayimg.com/08/i/000/d6/d0/1249_1.JPG

but these are electrically nonconductive and so they are bad as an electrode...

The other silicon piece above is electrically conductive, so it probably is
not a pure silicon semiconductor crystal...

Regards, Stefan.

infringer

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Re: Finally : cheap selfmade solar cell with common materials !
« Reply #31 on: February 28, 2009, 06:40:23 PM »
Great deal now we have the attention of some folks hopefully most every one joins in for this achievable goal!

Get in get your hands dirty!

We need some electronics experts to create a grid tie inverter like the SWEA that I posted a link to in the earlier thread this should be a great way to put power back into the grid who cares about UL approval if it works it works...

But if we reverse engineer this type of grid tie we can grid tie and save expensive costs on batteries.

So an outline of this project for us should be:

1-Tell everyone you know who is not too scared to do hands on testing to join in.
2-Get a basic ground cell to test from (This has been done)
3-Start testing and posting results
4-Get some electronics experts to reverse engineer the SWEA grid tie units so we can make them cheaply.
5-Set an efficiency goal to reach something to be reached within short term.
6-Incrementally improve on this percentage
7-Work on durability of the design.

Please do not look the other way I urge you we have something here that we know that works ! Tested and proven!
We only need to improve on the design and the more testing the better off we all will be!

This is possible all we need is the support of a nice group of people dedicated to the same thing.
With strength in numbers the odds will be in our favor!

Then it will be advantage people!

infringer

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Re: Finally : cheap selfmade solar cell with common materials !
« Reply #32 on: February 28, 2009, 06:47:31 PM »
Heartiberlin,

Try rochell salt please call it a hunch but I am very curious....
Maybe just making a mixture of graphite and rochell salt will work with the dye on top and the graphite from say pencil led crushed on the bottom mixed with epoxy and epoxy tabs to the bottom and tabs on the top simple clear epoxy...

Not sure really might be a decent idea may not but only tests will tell I keep firm that rochell salt may not be a bad growing material...

It is piezoelectric yes but heat causes expansion and contraction for one but just running off of mental notes from lots of reading here and it just keeps comming to mind it may be very possible to make something here. I will continue to work myself and your contribution is very important here as an administrator. Thank you a lot Stephan I believe all we need now is step one to put a little more light on this subject pardon the pun.

Thanks

hartiberlin

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Re: Finally : cheap selfmade solar cell with common materials !
« Reply #33 on: February 28, 2009, 06:57:05 PM »
Heartiberlin,

Try rochell salt please call it a hunch but I am very curious....

Thanks

How ?
What should I do with it ?
What is the chemical formular for it ?

hartiberlin

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Re: Finally : cheap selfmade solar cell with common materials !
« Reply #34 on: February 28, 2009, 06:58:36 PM »
Here is a very nice description with Quicktime movies
how to build a Graetzel cell:


http://mrsec.wisc.edu/Edetc/nanolab/TiO2/index.html


Well, if we now will find out how to do our own ITO or Tindioxid coated glas
and just use the Betadine solution then this will be a cheap process to make
our own cells...


ResinRat2

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Re: Finally : cheap selfmade solar cell with common materials !
« Reply #36 on: February 28, 2009, 07:21:18 PM »
I am currently experimenting with my graphite paper and
trying to get Silicon ( Si) onto it as a thin layer...

I wonder if an all colloidal-mineral type of solar cell could be designed by using the available array of easily purchased colloidal minerals and simply mixing two to simulate doping. Say by mixing colloidal platinum and colloidal silver you would get the P-layer, and by mixing silver and zinc colloids you would get the N-layer. I am not sure how to join them, but maybe similar to the LCD screens with conductive paint or copper wires. I am not quite sure how it would go together, but the idea of an all-colloidal solar cell really sounds interesting to me. Transparency is no problem.

I need to think about it for a bit.

The available colloidal minerals that are easily purchased comprise Boron, Calcium, Chromium, Cobalt, Copper, Germanium, Gold, Indium, Iodine, Iron, Magnesium, Manganese, Molybdenum, Platinum, Potassium, Selenium, Silver, Sulfur, Tin, Vanadium, and Zinc.

I am just not really sure if mixing two colloids would simulate doping; but it does sound interesting.

infringer

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Re: Finally : cheap selfmade solar cell with common materials !
« Reply #37 on: February 28, 2009, 07:40:46 PM »
 ;D Welcome aboard resinrat we could sure use a expert in chemistry as well!

Thank You for joining in!

EDIT: Check out this article you may be on to something indeed...

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6THY-4RSJDN2-4&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=7dae78f3c0d38f92786d1036c94f5f1e

This one as well:
http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ja048427j

Slightly indirectly related to what I believe you may be talking of I am no expert in any field just an apprentice here and look forward to the help of excellence to excel we shall need excellence and I don't know what else to say other then thank you for taking your free time and joining in.

infringer

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Re: Finally : cheap selfmade solar cell with common materials !
« Reply #38 on: February 28, 2009, 08:17:44 PM »
For the electronic people out there here is another grid tie unit... To reverse if need be...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ENVIROTECHS-GRID-TIE-INVERTER-FOR-SOLAR-WIND-MAX-250W_W0QQitemZ200313737813

We could make this unit better by hooking it up on a timer so we don't waste power at night in standby or maybe even disable it with a photocell once there is very limited lighting have it shut down with a photocell.

It would be the most excellent solution for the average Joe.

Anyhow this thread is on fire with lots of great info and views don't be scared join in please I promise there is no disappointments at the end of this road just remaining journey...
« Last Edit: February 28, 2009, 09:21:19 PM by infringer »

hartiberlin

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Re: Finally : cheap selfmade solar cell with common materials !
« Reply #39 on: March 01, 2009, 01:16:26 AM »
Hi all,
here are 2 pics from my trial to get the silicon and silver colloidal
into the graphite paper...

But it did not work yet.
It seems just using the graphite paper within the cell
as the second electrode does not work here....

It seems I need first to use 2 x silver or
2 x silicon rods to fill the distilled water with huge amounts
of colloidal metal and then just insert the graphite paper
into this water to get the colloidal particles sucked up by the graphite.
Probably the concentration is still too low after 10 hours of letting it
run on the pulser...

You can still see, that the water is already yellow from the colloidal silver,
but it seems it is not enough to get the silver fallen out and plate the graphite well...

So next time I will try with ionic solutions and try to do a real electroplating
electrolysis to get the silicon or silver onto the graphite paper.

Maybe I can get the colloidal silver fallen out into the
graphite, when I use some oil into the water ?

Last time, when I got the silver fallen out and coated the glas container,
I tried to build a skin creme and I put into the colloidal water some
vaseline creme and then I had all the silver fallen out and coated the glas walls..

Hmm...
maybe someone can tell me, which silicon salts I can use to get
silicon plated onto the graphite paper electrodes, when I am using an electrolyis
with a silicon salt ?

Maybe something like Siliconchlorid or Siliconcarbonat ?

Many thanks.

Regards, Stefan.

yaz

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Re: Finally : cheap selfmade solar cell with common materials !
« Reply #40 on: March 01, 2009, 01:58:08 AM »
Stumbled upon this homemade solar cell how-to booklet. Some good ideas in there.

http://www.fastonline.org/CD3WD_40/JF/JF_OTHER/SMALL/solarcell.pdf

hartiberlin

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Re: Finally : cheap selfmade solar cell with common materials !
« Reply #41 on: March 01, 2009, 10:37:38 AM »
Stumbled upon this homemade solar cell how-to booklet. Some good ideas in there.

http://www.fastonline.org/CD3WD_40/JF/JF_OTHER/SMALL/solarcell.pdf


Copper-Oxid cells are just too inefficient and also use too much
energy ( Heat for the Oxid layer to form).

Also the other Cadmium-combination solarcells are only quoted by their
patents and it is not shown,how this really could be done at home.
Also these chemicals are hard to get and are pretty toxic too.

Maybe someone can try out these Cadmium cells and can post a real
how to do it yourself explanation?

But I guess the Graetzel cells are easier to do at home,
if you have ITO coated glas.

Many thanks.

Regards, Stefan.

hartiberlin

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Re: Finally : cheap selfmade solar cell with common materials !
« Reply #42 on: March 01, 2009, 10:39:56 AM »
I wonder if an all colloidal-mineral type of solar cell could be designed by using the available array of easily purchased colloidal minerals and simply mixing two to simulate doping. Say by mixing colloidal platinum and colloidal silver you would get the P-layer, and by mixing silver and zinc colloids you would get the N-layer. I am not sure how to join them, but maybe similar to the LCD screens with conductive paint or copper wires. I am not quite sure how it would go together, but the idea of an all-colloidal solar cell really sounds interesting to me. Transparency is no problem.

I need to think about it for a bit.

The available colloidal minerals that are easily purchased comprise Boron, Calcium, Chromium, Cobalt, Copper, Germanium, Gold, Indium, Iodine, Iron, Magnesium, Manganese, Molybdenum, Platinum, Potassium, Selenium, Silver, Sulfur, Tin, Vanadium, and Zinc.

I am just not really sure if mixing two colloids would simulate doping; but it does sound interesting.


Hi RR,
yes,I think this is a good possibility.

Also electroplating could work.
I just need a good silicon salt, that is soluable in water and that will
coat my graphite paper when I do an electrolysis.

Any idea what cheap silicon salt to use ?

Many thanks.

Regards, Stefan.

turbo

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Re: Finally : cheap selfmade solar cell with common materials !
« Reply #43 on: March 01, 2009, 12:42:10 PM »
A Reminder:
Silicon is toxic and can cause permanent lung damage.

M.

infringer

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Re: Finally : cheap selfmade solar cell with common materials !
« Reply #44 on: March 01, 2009, 03:10:45 PM »
Marco,
So are them cigarettes that you smoke or that cardboard that you touch and the plastic you cook with ...
But here is an interesting article to lend credibility to what you talk of.
http://food.oregonstate.edu/glossary/c/colloidalsilicondioxide.html it would appear to me that this is best handled in damp conditions where there will be little dust... For the most part though silicon seems to be safe its everywhere... Personally I believe it is less harmful then forms of insulation and fiberglass... It would be more of an equal to plastic but plastic may even have more negatives.

We are survivors its amazing how much the human body can tolerate.

Stephan,
water-soluble material, sodium methyl siliconate, which is applied as a very dilute water solution; with exposure to the carbon dioxide of the atmosphere it is converted to a water-insoluble resin.

All,
Maybe someone here can lend Stephan a better hand here to get him what he is looking for.

Thanks again guys for participating.