Solar Cell

Differences

• Forced to use smaller copper sheets due to scarcity of copper sheets
• Laser cut a custom acrylic box to contain smaller copper sheets

List of materials

• 2 Copper sheets
• Acrylic sheets
• Degreaser
• Hot glue sticks
• Salt

Steps

• Degrease one copper sheet and heat up the copper sheet
• Wait until a black layer forms on the copper sheet.
• Let the copper sheet cool to allow the cuprous oxide to flake off
• Gently wash off the remaining cuprous oxide in water
• Laser cut an acrylic box using clear acrylic
• Glue the acrylic box on the inside with hot glue to ensure water tight seal
• Fill the box to the brim with water and dissolve a volume of salt equal to 1/3 the volume of the water.
• Place the copper sheets on opposing ends of the box

Results

The solar cell produces a very minuscule amount of electricity, around 80 mV under a lamp and 50 mv in ambient light.

Conclusion

The solar cell is extremely inefficient when compared to conventional solar cells. A lot of surface area on the copper sheet is not coated with cupric oxide and thus is not utilized for converting solar energy. A process that utilized more surface area effectively would be better. In addition, conventional solar panels utilize materials other than cupric oxide. Switching to other materials may increase the power generation of the solar cell.

Attribution

https://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Solar-Panel-(Copper-Sheet-Method)

Images

Video