How to Make a Solar Panel (Copper Sheet Method)
Cut two copper sheets., Clean your copper sheets., Place one copper sheet on a hot plate., Allow the copper to oxidize completely., Allow the copper to cool slowly., Place the two copper sheets into your container., Connect alligator clips to each...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Cut two copper sheets.
You can use sheet metal sheers to do this easily.
Make the sheets the same size.
You want one sheet to fit on your burner or hotplate, and both to fit in the two liter bottle.
Making them both six inch squares should work well., Use a degreaser to remove any oils or grease from your copper sheet.
You do not want them to react with the copper or to prevent oxidation from happening.
You should also wear gloves to avoid getting oil from your skin on the copper.
Also be sure to scrub the copper with steel wool or sandpaper to remove any corrosion., Once you have placed a sheet on the hot plate, turn the hotplate on.
This will heat the copper and provide the energy needed for the copper to react quickly with the oxygen in the air.
This speeds up the natural oxidation process considerably., As the copper heats up you will see varying shades of red, pink, purple, and possibly other colors.
This is a sign that oxidation is taking place.
Finally, you will notice that these colors are all being replaced by a black covering.
This covering is cupric oxide.
Once the whole sheet is covered in cupric oxide, allow it to cook at least thirty more minutes.Cooking the extra thirty minutes makes the cupric oxide layer thick and brittle.
This allows it to break away from the copper.
A thin layer of cupric oxide would remain on the copper, covering up the cuprous oxide layer that needs to be exposed., When you are finished cooking the copper, turn the burner off.
Leave the copper on the burner to cool.
This allows the copper to cool very slowly.
During the cooling process the copper and the cupric oxide layer shrink at different rates.
As long as your cupric oxide layer is thick enough, this will result in the black cupric oxide flaking off and exposing the red cuprous oxide layer.Cuprous oxide is a semi-conductor and must be exposed in order to make the solar cell function. , You will need to bend both pieces to match the curvature of the plastic bottle.
Both pieces need to be able to fit in the bottle without touching each other.
Be sure not to damage the red cuprous oxide layer when bending the cooked sheet., Use the alligator clips to attach both pieces to opposite sides of the plastic bottle.
The copper sheet with red cuprous oxide should be connected to the clip that will lead to a negative terminal, and the clean copper sheet could be joined to a clip leading to a positive terminal., Dissolving salt into the water will provide electrolytes that carry the current from the cuprous oxide layer to the clean copper sheet.
An effective solution will be comprised of roughly one part salt (table salt is fine) to three parts water.
Stir well to make sure that the salt is all dissolved.
Heat if needed.
For example, dissolve ¼ cup of salt into ¾ cup of water.
Using distilled or deionized water will reduce the risk of contaminants. , This will allow current to travel from the negative terminal to the positive terminal.
Be careful to keep the clips at the top of the two sheets dry.
Otherwise, the water on the clips might interfere with your readings., When the sun hits the cuprous oxide layer, it causes electrons to be released.
The cuprous oxide is not conductive, but the electrons are able to move through the salt water to the conductive copper plate.
This plate transfers the electrons to the wires., Plug the other end of your alligator clips into a multimeter or ammeter.
Be sure that your meter can function in the microamp (0.000001 amps) range.
Plug the positive alligator clip into the positive terminal of your meter and the negative alligator clip into the negative terminal of your meter., A very small amount of current will be flowing.
This current should fall somewhere between 0 and 50 microamps.
Turning the cell so that the cuprous oxide layer is facing the most direct sunlight will give you the most current. -
Step 2: Clean your copper sheets.
-
Step 3: Place one copper sheet on a hot plate.
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Step 4: Allow the copper to oxidize completely.
-
Step 5: Allow the copper to cool slowly.
-
Step 6: Place the two copper sheets into your container.
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Step 7: Connect alligator clips to each sheet.
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Step 8: Make a saltwater solution.
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Step 9: Add saltwater to cover most of the two plates.
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Step 10: Place the solar cell in the sun.
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Step 11: Hook the alligator clips to a multimeter.
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Step 12: Set your meter to read microamps.
Detailed Guide
You can use sheet metal sheers to do this easily.
Make the sheets the same size.
You want one sheet to fit on your burner or hotplate, and both to fit in the two liter bottle.
Making them both six inch squares should work well., Use a degreaser to remove any oils or grease from your copper sheet.
You do not want them to react with the copper or to prevent oxidation from happening.
You should also wear gloves to avoid getting oil from your skin on the copper.
Also be sure to scrub the copper with steel wool or sandpaper to remove any corrosion., Once you have placed a sheet on the hot plate, turn the hotplate on.
This will heat the copper and provide the energy needed for the copper to react quickly with the oxygen in the air.
This speeds up the natural oxidation process considerably., As the copper heats up you will see varying shades of red, pink, purple, and possibly other colors.
This is a sign that oxidation is taking place.
Finally, you will notice that these colors are all being replaced by a black covering.
This covering is cupric oxide.
Once the whole sheet is covered in cupric oxide, allow it to cook at least thirty more minutes.Cooking the extra thirty minutes makes the cupric oxide layer thick and brittle.
This allows it to break away from the copper.
A thin layer of cupric oxide would remain on the copper, covering up the cuprous oxide layer that needs to be exposed., When you are finished cooking the copper, turn the burner off.
Leave the copper on the burner to cool.
This allows the copper to cool very slowly.
During the cooling process the copper and the cupric oxide layer shrink at different rates.
As long as your cupric oxide layer is thick enough, this will result in the black cupric oxide flaking off and exposing the red cuprous oxide layer.Cuprous oxide is a semi-conductor and must be exposed in order to make the solar cell function. , You will need to bend both pieces to match the curvature of the plastic bottle.
Both pieces need to be able to fit in the bottle without touching each other.
Be sure not to damage the red cuprous oxide layer when bending the cooked sheet., Use the alligator clips to attach both pieces to opposite sides of the plastic bottle.
The copper sheet with red cuprous oxide should be connected to the clip that will lead to a negative terminal, and the clean copper sheet could be joined to a clip leading to a positive terminal., Dissolving salt into the water will provide electrolytes that carry the current from the cuprous oxide layer to the clean copper sheet.
An effective solution will be comprised of roughly one part salt (table salt is fine) to three parts water.
Stir well to make sure that the salt is all dissolved.
Heat if needed.
For example, dissolve ¼ cup of salt into ¾ cup of water.
Using distilled or deionized water will reduce the risk of contaminants. , This will allow current to travel from the negative terminal to the positive terminal.
Be careful to keep the clips at the top of the two sheets dry.
Otherwise, the water on the clips might interfere with your readings., When the sun hits the cuprous oxide layer, it causes electrons to be released.
The cuprous oxide is not conductive, but the electrons are able to move through the salt water to the conductive copper plate.
This plate transfers the electrons to the wires., Plug the other end of your alligator clips into a multimeter or ammeter.
Be sure that your meter can function in the microamp (0.000001 amps) range.
Plug the positive alligator clip into the positive terminal of your meter and the negative alligator clip into the negative terminal of your meter., A very small amount of current will be flowing.
This current should fall somewhere between 0 and 50 microamps.
Turning the cell so that the cuprous oxide layer is facing the most direct sunlight will give you the most current.
About the Author
Timothy Ortiz
Brings years of experience writing about DIY projects and related subjects.
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