cheap do it yourself DIY solar cells from alufoil

[jeanna]

Stephan,

What is the hybiscus tea for?

Is it a coloring agent? or does it provide some chemical reaction?

BTW, I love your idea on making colloidal silver to make silver electrodes. Brilliant.

Thank you,

jeanna

[sparks]

    This is a great topic.  I can remember back in the day there were phase change salts you could just put in a bag in the sun.  Then Silicon Valley money took over.
Is there a gas that would result in easy ionization.  I was reading about ion propulsion and ammonia gas is said to be easily ionizable. As the gas is ionized the electrons go one way in a magnetic field and the ions the other.    I just see a bunch of tubes with permanent magnets aluminum and some sunshine.  How bought a bottle full of co2 and make sure the infrared gets reflected back to the metal collector plate.  This would crete a resonant cavity full of infrared emwave energy.

[triffid]

Ok ,here goes  the rest of the info on making a solar cell using aluminum foil
according to patent#5,538,903 and the ebook that r8rchris posted:
5)nickle metal(ink in a screen pattern)-dry only(neg electrode)
4)(n-type)mixed cadium sulphide and cadium chloride and proylene glycol(CdS layer)
3)(p-type)(CdTe layer) an eqi-mol mixture of Cadium (Cd) and Tellurium(Te) powders with addition of CdCl2 and pg(proylene glycol)
2)carbon electrode layer with silver and Indium mixed in.
1)aluminum foil(pos electrode)
layers 2,3, and 4 are to be dried and baked at 600 degree C one layer on top of the other
Triffid

[triffid]

I should add that a propane powered outdoor grill was recommended to bake these cells on.Triffid

[jeanna]

  ... I can remember back in the day there were phase change salts you could just put in a bag in the sun. ...

Sparks,

I take it that you don't remember what these phase change salts were?

jeanna