Solar Cells Made From a Spreadable Nanoparticle Paste 66
An anonymous reader writes "Researchers at Notre Dame have created a nanoparticle paste, which acts as the main ingredient in solar cells that are very easy to construct. In a short video clip, they can be seen assembling a functional solar cell with little more than a heat gun, tape, and some binder clips. The paste is made from a mix of t-butanol, water, and a mix of cadmium selenide with cadmium sulfide nanoparticles. So far, the experimental devices are not nearly as efficient as standard solar cells, but they were just developed. If the materials were slightly less toxic, it might even be a project that kids could do at home."
How slightly are we talking about here? (Score:2)
"If the materials were slightly less toxic, it might even be a project that kids could do at home."
It better be like Play-doh.
Re:How slightly are we talking about here? (Score:5, Informative)
Considering it's got cadmium selenide, the current version is pretty toxic [pdf] [testbourne.com]. I assume the blurb is just trying to find a catchy way of saying that the actual preparation process is not difficult.
China Will Win: Kids There Play With Cadmium Now (Score:5, Funny)
Re:China Will Win: Kids There Play With Cadmium No (Score:4, Informative)
If they get to play with mercury, I'd consider moving, because mercury is awesome.
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"...beakers, Florence flasks, little petri dishes full of mercury - blobs of mercury. I used to play with it all the time ... One of the things I used to like to do was pour the mercury on the floor and hit it with a hammer, so it squirted all over the place. I lived in mercury."
-- Frank Zappa, recalling his childhood
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Are You Insane!!
No, seriously, are you insane?
Re:China Will Win: Kids There Play With Cadmium No (Score:4, Insightful)
I'm sure he's as mad as a hatter. ;)
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Considering he was quoting Frank Zappa, I'd say no. As to Mr. Zappa, I'd say that explains quite a bit, although the results were certainly awesome.
Re:China Will Win: Kids There Play With Cadmium No (Score:5, Funny)
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Now, why is a raven like a writing desk?
I haven't the slightest idea, but my hat off to you, sir.
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If they get to play with mercury, I'd consider moving, because mercury is awesome.
Heck, have them play with venus or mars instead :)... euh, what do you mean, not that mercury? you mean nasa's mercury? no? darn, the type of cars? still no? hum, mercury, mercury, I know what it means, I swear :p... hang on, I'll get back to you :)
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This is why the west will never catch up with China. They are so forward thinking and innovative they have had their kids playing with Cadmium, Lead, [vancouversun.com] and other heavy metals for years now. How can we possibly compete?
Yes yes, but the real question is, if it's spreadable, will it stick to the roof of your mouth?
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Given its toxicity, I assume the blurb is to say "the promise of a combined alternative energy source and spermicide is just around the corner."
Re:How slightly are we talking about here? (Score:5, Insightful)
"If the materials were slightly less toxic, it might even be a project that kids could do at home."
30+ years ago this probably would have been a kids project. But now we have chemical free chemistry sets. [thejayfk.com]
Very easy [Re:How slightly are we talking abou...] (Score:5, Interesting)
"If the materials were slightly less toxic, it might even be a project that kids could do at home."
It's easy to make cad sulfide/copper sulfide solar cells at home-- it takes little more work than dipping a penny in a cad sulfide plating solution. Making not-very-efficient solar cells at home is really nothing new. As long as you don't drink the plating solution, it's not terribly dangerous.
(main reason cadmium sulfide/copper sulfide solar cells never really caught on is lifetime-- they degrade quickly if there's any humidity at all. I don't think I've heard of anybody making them since about 1980.)
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I am pretty sure that for now, they are getting 1% with what they have, but are expecting a much better result with more development. Meaning that it will outperform copper oxide further down the track.
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But why risk it? Just use copper oxide [rimstar.org], it's far safer (except for maybe the heating part).
Well, except the "solar cell" in the site you link isn't really a solar cell, it's a photoelectrochemical cell. They're using the cuprous oxide as the p-type semiconductor, but they don't have a n-type semiconductor, they're using an electrolyte. To make a solar cell, they'd need to put a n-type semiconductor on top, to make a p-n junction ...which would typically be CdO.
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Delicious. (Score:1)
Mmmm. Spreadable nanoparticle paste... Delicious.
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Huge breakthrough! (Score:5, Funny)
We can now make ineffective solar cells from horrendously toxic materials, this is a step up from our previous efforts to produce ineffective solar cells using non-toxic and mildy toxic materials.
Similar to the dye sensitized solar cell kit (Score:3, Interesting)
I build this kit as a solar cell demo for my school a few weeks ago. The article has a very different chemistry, but the assembly is almost identical.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17SsOKEN5dE
Could be better (Score:4, Interesting)
Solar paint is fine, but there's a whole lot of energy that could be gathered with solar pavement. Just think of all those blacktop parking lots, if those had a 1% solar energy conversion you could probably make mini-malls power grid neutral.
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While not quite using paint or parking lots, the Germans embraced Solar power ten years ago [wired.com] and have certainly not looked back.
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yes, have embraced solar power, are spending tens of billions Euro every year, and have under 5% of their consumption supplied from renewables ...
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Let's not be disingenuous, sounds like a pretty good deal pro-rated long term. Not only that, but isn't 5% of their energy consumption already tens of billions of Euro a year?
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a large part of those billions are just the subsidies, while the tax wedge in Germany is above 60% ... meaning out of what an employers spends with an employee, more than 60% goes to taxes ; yes, sounds like a pretty good deal, but only if you're selling solar power equipment.
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Ahhh, yes, the old 60% scare.
Funny, they also have full, all-inclusive healthcare, generous retirement packages, pensions from their employer and the state, a minimum of 30 days paid vacation and a 38-hour work week. Oh, and because of all those subsidies, they industrial sector is quite safe from the downturn and making lots of money, their banks didn't crash and their economy only took a ding because everyone ELSE crashed and burned.
Yeah, that 60% is sooooo painful.
I'm sure all the German tourists in Asi
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They also some 25% unemployment, most of it camouflaged by one of the Hartz-es, complain that the standards of living are going down, sold their some of the industrial sector ... and some of the banks, too ... to the Russians and the Chinese, and their banks did not crash yet only because the Greeks did not declare bankruptcy.
Oh, and the health care is not all-inclusive since the 80s ... their media blames the decline on the money spent on integrating East Germany, but the decline began some 10 years before
Fake jewelry (Score:4, Funny)
"Ah ha!" a Chinese government spokesperson reportedly said. "The only way to save the planet is to melt our cadmium-laden kids' jewelry into a toothpaste-like substance. Bet you never saw that coming."
slightly less toxic? (Score:3)
Slightly? This is cadnium we are talking about. Its a freaking heavy metal! (And not the rock and roll kind!)
What's next, mercury funtime playsets?
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I miss mercury funtime playsets. As well as "My First Millinery"
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What's next, mercury funtime playsets?
Actually, that's not next, it's already happened. My dad often tells stories about playing with mercury as a kid. Then we learned how that was a bad idea...
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What's next, mercury funtime playsets?
Actually, that's not next, it's already happened. My dad often tells stories about playing with mercury as a kid. Then we learned how that was a bad idea...
I hate how much this is going to make me sound old, but... When I was a kid thermometers were glass, filled with mercury. We were expected to be smart enough not to bite them while they were in our mouth in order to take our temperature. And yes, it was rather fun to play with. Of course I don't recall anyone being stupid enough to snort it either.
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Well, it's christmas, and china has to up the ante.
Everything old is just waiting to be new again.
I guess a mercury filled kinetic toy set is just waiting to happen.
*muses*
"Metal racers! Race your tiny liquid metal drops down spiral tracks! Place obstacles and traps, and watch your racers grow!"
(Think cross between a mercury droplet labyrinth, and a hotwheels playset, where the droplets pool together to escape traps and obstacles.)
Amusingly, it would probably be a very entertaining toy.
Awesome.... (Score:3)
Peanut Butter and Solar Celly Sandwiches anyone?
Cadmium? (Score:3, Interesting)
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I guess if one gets enough cadmium [...]
Mmm, Cadmium Creamy Eggs... Oh sorry, wrong holiday.
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"Could we please get a moratorium on experimental solar technology articles?"
Slashdot is an entertainment site, and tech we won't use for many years if ever is still entertaining.
Consider the ancient Popular Science magazines. Some of that stuff made it, much did not, but it was entertaining to read.
So... (Score:1)
High-tech 'nanoparticles' vs. asbestos? (Score:1)
How do all of these groovy new high-tech nanoparticles used in batteries, solar panels, and almost everything these days differ from asbestos, that nanoparticle we all have come to know and love?
Creative research group! (Score:1)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVwzJEhMmD8 [youtube.com]
1977 Popular Electronics Article (Score:1)
always more powerful and cheap... (Score:2)
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They are a lot cheaper than they were last year. Go to sunelec.com and pick up some for bargain basement prices. (no I do not have any relationship with that site, but that is one where the $1/watt cells can actually be bought. It's also a good site for figuring return on investment)
They may call it "spreadable nanoparticle paste" (Score:2)
but we all know it's really just Vegemite.
This also answers the question about how toxic this is [slashdot.org]. The answer is "very-- except to Australians, they've built up an immunity."
whoa there! (Score:2)
Definitely don't do this at home. Cadmium Selenide is not something you really want to be around if you're not in a lab environment. I would feel fine having undergraduates working in a lab do this, but I wouldn't demo it at a high school, for example.
If you do want to build a solar cell like this at home, try the raspberry solar cell (google it). Very simple to build, uses more common ingredients and tools, doesn't put out as much power, but still educational and fun.
DIY AFM (Score:2)
Help them build [diyhpl.us] an AFM [wikipedia.org] with that nifty 3D printer they like so much.