Need a transparent powder that is conductive...

[hartiberlin]

Hi All,
can anybody suggest a powder that is electrically conductive and
is also transparent ?

I want to build a special solarcell and still need to know how I can best
use some powder to use in a paint mix, so that this mix is transparent
and still conducts electricity very well.

I know, that TinOxid is used in solar cells as the electrode
material put onto the glas layer, but I wonder,
if normal tinoxid powder is also conductive and transparent,
when I want to use it as a "painting mix" with some binder material...

What other substances could be used in a paint solution to just paint
a  conductive top layer onto some other materials that will
be electrically conductive and will be transparent to let the sunshine through ?

Many thanks.

Regards, Stefan.

[hansvonlieven]

G'day Stefan,

As far as I know most metal oxides are dielectrics.

Your best bet is gold vapour. This has been used in a lot of applications where both conductivity and transparency is required. A gold vapour layer 1 molecule thick is still transparent.

Hans von Lieven

[armagdn03]

perhaps you could use an electrolytic solution with a strong electrolyte, you would not be able to let it dry out, but you could sandwich it between two layers of glass. You would have extreem transperency and great conductivity.

[hartiberlin]

@armagdn03
I need it for the second electrode in a selfmade solarcell,
so I would prefer a nonliquid electrode,
but maybeif the other substances are notwater soluable,
then saltwater or NaOH would work ?

[hartiberlin]

@Hans,
well gold is pretty expensive and I don?t know how to generate 1 atom layer
of gold with an household setup without a chemlab ??