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DIY Solar Cells

Solar technology has come a long way over the last few years. Today major ecological companies are developing better solar panels, with great energy output using a relatively small amount of materials. Solar energy could be the future. If you have a child who is curious about science, or are curious yourself, there are ways to make your own solar cells at home. This is a fun, easy and cheap activity that is educational and inspiring.

  1. Material

    • Collect the materials to build your solar cell. You will need a sheet of copper flashing, two alligator clip leads, an electric stove or hot plate which runs at 1100 watts, a large plastic bottle (like a 2-liter soda bottle), salt water, steel wool and sheet metal shears. You will also need a small microammeter which reads between 10 and 50 microamperes. A microammeter can be found at most electrical supply stores.

    The Copper

    • Cut a piece of copper which will fit onto the burner on your stove, but do not cut it so big that it will not fit into your plastic bottle. Put it on your electric burner and turn the burner to its highest setting. The copper will go through a long process of chemical change, through oxidization. The copper will first turn several colors at once, like red, orange, pink and purple, then the colors will disappear to grey. Next, your copper will turn black. Leave the copper on the burner for at least half an hour to build up this black layer of cupric oxide. Once the half hour is up, turn off the burner and allow the copper to cool slowly. As it cools, the black layer will fall off, revealing the colors from the first stage. Do not cool the copper too quickly, as this will cause the black cupric oxide to stick. Use a bit of steel wool to clean the rest of the cupric oxide from the copper.

    Assembly

    • Cut another piece of copper a similar size to your last sheet. Cut off the top of your plastic bottle and stick the two pieces of copper into the bottle, bending them gently to fit them in. Turn the baked copper to the outside, so that it will face toward the light. Attach your alligator clips to the copper, one clip to the baked copper and one to the fresh piece. Connect the baked copper lead to the negative end of your meter, and the unbaked to the positive. Mix a few tbsp. salt into some warm water and dissolve it thoroughly. Pour this into your bottle. You should leave at least an inch of the copper plates exposed. Make sure to not get the alligator clips wet. As soon as this is done, you should notice a reading of a few micro-amps on your meter. When sunlight hits cuprous oxide in your bottle, it causes electrons to flow freely through the salt water. The electrons hit the copper plating, go up through the alligator clip wires, and this is how the electricity is created.

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