Finally : cheap DIY selfmade solar cell with common materials !

[hartiberlin]

Hi All,
I am currently experimenting with my graphite paper and
trying to get Silicon ( Si) onto it as a thin layer...
I have used my colloidal silver generator, which is just a
pulser, that pulses about 30 Volts DC onto 2 electrodes.

I have tried to use the graphite paper as one electrode
and a piece of conductable silicon I bought from ebay here:

http://i15.ebayimg.com/01/i/001/33/29/cb15_1.JPG

as the other electrode...

But it seems the silicon is not so soluable as silver...

There is also a small yellowish color in the destilled
water after a few hours, but the colloidal silicon
will not build a layer onto the graphite paper...
I tried both polarities, cause I am not sure,
which polarity I should choose for
the silicon and which for the graphite paper,
but I guess to "electroplate" silicon onto the
graphite paper it needs a better method..
so I should probably better to use
a real silicon salt and then use electroplating to
convert the silicon ions to a real thin siliconlayer
onto the conducting graphite paper electrode...

So what silicon salt should I choose the best and
what should be the other electrode for it in such an electroplating
electrolysis ?

P.S. I also bought 2 real nonconductive silicon plates from
a semicoductor plant:

http://i9.ebayimg.com/08/i/000/d6/d0/1249_1.JPG

but these are electrically nonconductive and so they are bad as an electrode...

The other silicon piece above is electrically conductive, so it probably is
not a pure silicon semiconductor crystal...

Regards, Stefan.

[infringer]

Great deal now we have the attention of some folks hopefully most every one joins in for this achievable goal!

Get in get your hands dirty!

We need some electronics experts to create a grid tie inverter like the SWEA that I posted a link to in the earlier thread this should be a great way to put power back into the grid who cares about UL approval if it works it works...

But if we reverse engineer this type of grid tie we can grid tie and save expensive costs on batteries.

So an outline of this project for us should be:

1-Tell everyone you know who is not too scared to do hands on testing to join in.
2-Get a basic ground cell to test from (This has been done)
3-Start testing and posting results
4-Get some electronics experts to reverse engineer the SWEA grid tie units so we can make them cheaply.
5-Set an efficiency goal to reach something to be reached within short term.
6-Incrementally improve on this percentage
7-Work on durability of the design.

Please do not look the other way I urge you we have something here that we know that works ! Tested and proven!
We only need to improve on the design and the more testing the better off we all will be!

This is possible all we need is the support of a nice group of people dedicated to the same thing.
With strength in numbers the odds will be in our favor!

Then it will be advantage people!

[infringer]

Heartiberlin,

Try rochell salt please call it a hunch but I am very curious....
Maybe just making a mixture of graphite and rochell salt will work with the dye on top and the graphite from say pencil led crushed on the bottom mixed with epoxy and epoxy tabs to the bottom and tabs on the top simple clear epoxy...

Not sure really might be a decent idea may not but only tests will tell I keep firm that rochell salt may not be a bad growing material...

It is piezoelectric yes but heat causes expansion and contraction for one but just running off of mental notes from lots of reading here and it just keeps comming to mind it may be very possible to make something here. I will continue to work myself and your contribution is very important here as an administrator. Thank you a lot Stephan I believe all we need now is step one to put a little more light on this subject pardon the pun.

Thanks

[hartiberlin]

Heartiberlin,

Try rochell salt please call it a hunch but I am very curious....

Thanks

How ?
What should I do with it ?
What is the chemical formular for it ?

[hartiberlin]

Here is a very nice description with Quicktime movies
how to build a Graetzel cell:


http://mrsec.wisc.edu/Edetc/nanolab/TiO2/index.html


Well, if we now will find out how to do our own ITO or Tindioxid coated glas
and just use the Betadine solution then this will be a cheap process to make
our own cells...