Solar panels refer to the grid of photovoltaic cells that are used to produce electricity from sun. There are some chemical compounds that can make electricity when under direct sunlight. Such compounds are known as semi conductive chemicals. The two chemicals that many use are silicon oxide (silica) and cuprous oxide. Another chemical called gallium arsenate is also used in the manufacture of photo voltaic cells. The process known as molecular epitaxy makes the arsenate cells work. Cuprous oxide, the red semi conductive oxide of copper is commonly used in making homemade solar panels.
Typically, you will be able to make your homemade solar panel when you make a series circuit connection by aligning several homemade copper solar cells with it. The direct current that you will get is approximately the same from each copper strip as they have been cut similarly. A homemade solar panel comes in two basic kinds and they are wet and dry. This article discusses both these processes simply.
There is one basic difference between the two kinds of cells that is wet and dry and this is that, the copper needs to be kept half immersed in an electrolytic solution in the wet cell, while there is no need for this in the other. The initial step of cleaning the copper piece thoroughly is common in the construction of both the types of cells.
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First, the wet process then.
Once the scrubbing and the polishing is done, you will have to submerge the copper plate into a solution of 50% water and 50% muriatic acid, and this solution can be made at home. Acid needs to be poured into water to make the solution, and this is where you must be extremely careful. This is done to ensure the copper plate is completely clean.
In the next stage, the copper plate has to be left alone so that it can burn on the oven. Very gradually, you will notice a change in the color of the plate as a coating of copper oxides gets deposited. It happens about 30 minutes after heating. Cu2O or the red semiconducting cuprous oxide gets deposited on the surface of the copper, over which there is a coating of black non-semi conducting cupric oxide finally. Remember, the heating might be tricky. You will need to correctly heat the copper plate - both over heating and under heating makes it quite useless. To make the right amount of semi conductive cuprous oxide, it is essential that proper heating is done.
As the plate begins to cool, the black oxide gets peeled off from the surface of the red oxide automatically. Just use a steel brush to gently scrub and you will be able to get rid of the remaining black portion. In a solution made with chlorine water or salt water, you will now need to immerse the plain copper and the semiconducting material. There has to be some distance between the two plates. Any negative impact of un-oxidized copper can be effectively removed by enamel painting the edges of the cuprous oxide plate. The plates in the solar battery function as the two polarities.
You will find the cuprous oxide on one side of the copper plate in the dry cell, and this works as the photo electric cell. Once there are different polarities in the single copper plate's two surfaces, the making of the home made photo electric cell is deemed complete. The surface on which cuprous oxide has been coated needs to be connected with a wire because the oxide often falls off. To make the cuprous oxide from falling, a non reactive adhesive compound is often used.
Many such homemade solar batteries can be arranged to produce a meager but helpful amount of solar electricity.
CLICK HERE FOR A STEP-BY-STEP ARTICLE THAT TEACHES YOU HOW TO BUILD YOUR OWN HOMEMADE SOLAR PANELS
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