Cuprous oxide is a semiconductor, just like doped silicon, and was one of the first materials experimented with as a solar cell. But its efficiency was found to be so low that people stopped trying, though the occasional set of experiments are still done in research labs and papers published. It was also used to make commercially sold diodes and may still be, since that’s what a solar cell is – a photosensitive diode. And before you comment that it’s a battery… At 2:30 the cell is getting full sunlight and it is around 10 microamps. At 2:35 I block the sun and it is around 0 microamps. Then at 2:41 I unblock the sun so the cell is getting full sunlight again and it is around 10 microamps again. If it was a battery then the current wouldn’t be going back and forth when I block and unblock the sun. So it’s solar. This shows how to make and test a solar cell using a sheet of copper. These solar cells are basically sheets of copper with a layer of cuprous oxide (Cu2O) on them. The cuprous oxide is a semiconductor. You won’t get much electricity from it but it’s fun to make! More details can be found at rimstar.org Follow me on Twitter: twitter.com Watch my how-to video, www.wonderhowto.com How to make a homemade solar cell with a sheet of copper on WonderHowTo. – rimstar.org
Video Rating: 4 / 5
23 comments
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Yash Aggarwal says:
October 18, 2012 at 4:54 pm (UTC 0)
thanks for the quick reply
I’ve tried with gas,it makes it red hot in 1 min and i think it’ll melt the sheet if i kept it for 30min .I’ll use induction stove now.
Yash Aggarwal says:
October 18, 2012 at 5:40 pm (UTC 0)
Should i use gas stove or induction stove?
RimstarOrg says:
October 18, 2012 at 6:38 pm (UTC 0)
Mine’s 1000 watts and I think I’d turned it up all the way.
OnlineCell says:
October 18, 2012 at 7:16 pm (UTC 0)
Thanks, but I can find it in my local stores. How many watts would you recommend for a cooking range /burner to use as a hot plate?
RimstarOrg says:
October 18, 2012 at 7:17 pm (UTC 0)
It’s Toastess by Toastess International. I bought it either at Canadian Tire or Home Depot.
OnlineCell says:
October 18, 2012 at 7:28 pm (UTC 0)
which hotplate/burner is that?? I’ve been trying to find an affordable one
HighVoltageFag says:
October 18, 2012 at 8:06 pm (UTC 0)
This is just more advertising, they want you to buy there “course” and Ebook on how to do it after they get you excited and waste your time watching a 20 minute long video that doesn’t explain anything.
RimstarOrg says:
October 18, 2012 at 8:32 pm (UTC 0)
I got my copper foil from scrap/junk yard.
True2LifeVidz says:
October 18, 2012 at 8:54 pm (UTC 0)
i am looking for cper foil were did you get yours???
RimstarOrg says:
October 18, 2012 at 9:07 pm (UTC 0)
If would work. The question is how efficient would it be. The best Stirling engines are around 30% efficient. I don’t know how efficient fresnel lenses are. It’s something on my list to try out.
thomaskn1012 says:
October 18, 2012 at 10:03 pm (UTC 0)
You can concentrate sunlight onto a Stirling engine using a Fresnel lens, and then hook up the engine to a battery to charge it up. Would this work?
RimstarOrg says:
October 18, 2012 at 10:30 pm (UTC 0)
Thanks.
UniversalCataclysm says:
October 18, 2012 at 10:43 pm (UTC 0)
Pretty neat. nice vid
dubyamoney says:
October 18, 2012 at 11:21 pm (UTC 0)
great when you do it put it on so we can see it and would love to see your can design as well.
RimstarOrg says:
October 19, 2012 at 12:15 am (UTC 0)
If you can make it work then that will certainly get you more energy than this solar cell. It’s already on my list of things to play with. I made a can stirling engine a few years ago, but would need to make a better one for this. I already have plenty of stuff to make the dish.
dubyamoney says:
October 19, 2012 at 12:58 am (UTC 0)
learning is always good!! here’s an idea of mine!! A sterling engine running via a dish directing the suns energy(heat) onto it. Now you will get some energy gain.
RimstarOrg says:
October 19, 2012 at 1:52 am (UTC 0)
Yup. Though even then, I certainly didn’t get any net energy gain here! Had fun and learned stuff though.
dubyamoney says:
October 19, 2012 at 2:12 am (UTC 0)
lucky copper and electricity to run the stove are both cheap!! 🙂
RimstarOrg says:
October 19, 2012 at 3:00 am (UTC 0)
Many years. :)
gottlieb1899 says:
October 19, 2012 at 3:58 am (UTC 0)
How many years will it take you in the sun to make as much electricity as you used in your stove ?
Derrick Hendricks says:
October 19, 2012 at 4:31 am (UTC 0)
That’s right. But for a high school experiment this is a good option.
RimstarOrg says:
October 19, 2012 at 5:07 am (UTC 0)
I doubt that the temperature would change enough to have that instant effect. Water has a high specific heat capacity and takes time to change temperature much. I’ve no doubt that there’s some other effect contributing to the current, especially given the corrosion, but when the sunlight hits, the current change that occurs is most likely a photovoltaic effect, though someone mentioned another effect a long time ago here but I can’t think of any way of testing this dry to eliminate effects.
Wade Mattei says:
October 19, 2012 at 5:54 am (UTC 0)
You have created a corrosion cell which also creates current. 2 dissimilar metals in an electrolyte create DC current. By heating the 1 plate you have changed it’s properties to become cathodic to the untreated plate. anode and cathode. Like a battery , but with the increase in temperature (sun on the panel) you have elevated the current output. The increase in temperature has increased in DC output…The corrosion is where the plate that has become the anode is depleting.