TitaniumDioxideSolarCell

KorbenBergmann

Summary
Moderndaysolarpanelsusesilicontomakeasolarpanel,howevertheproblemwithsiliconis
thatitisveryexpensiveandhardtoobtain.Thatswhyscientistshavebeenresearching
differentmethodstomakesolarcells.Oneofthenewestwaysisusingtitaniumdioxidesolar
cells.Scientistsdiscoveredthatthisisacheapwaytocreateasolarcell.Thisworksbecause
thetitaniumdioxideworksasasemiconductorthesamewaysiliconwould.Howeverthe
downsidetothiskindofcellisthatifleftundyeditwillonlybeabletogetUVlight.Thiscanbe
overcomebydyeingthetitaniumdioxide.Butbydyeingthetitaniumdioxideitcausesitto
degradefaster.Thiscausesitslifetobeshorterandmorefragilethansilicon.Finallythesesolar
cellsarenotnearlyasefficientasasiliconone,soitwouldneverreasonablybeabletoreplace
it.

Introduction
Solarcellsarerelativelywellknown,buthowdotheywork?Siliconsolarcells,oralsoknownas
photovoltaiccells,convertsunlightintoenergyusingthephotoelectriceffect.Thephotoelectric
effectisbasiclytheabilityofwhenlightisshinedonmatterthatthematterreleaseelectrons.
Siliconisknownasasemiconductor,whichmeansitsharessomepropertiessimilartometal
andsomesimilartoaninsulator.Solarcellsworkbecauselightismadeoftinythingscalled
photons.Thishitsthesiliconatomsofasolarcell,andtheatomstransfertheenergyintoloose
electronsknockingthemofftheatom.Ofcourseknockingtheelectronsofftheatomsisonlyhalf
thebattleyoustillneedtomakethemintoanelectriccurrent.Thankfullythiscanbeeasily
done.Thankstothewaysiliconatomsareitissimpletoaddchemicalstocreatetwodifferent
typesofsilicon:NtypeandPtype.Ntypeisthenormalsiliconandworksasdescribedabove,
whilePtypeisdifferent:insteadofshootingoffelectronsitpullsthemtoit.Whenlinedupyou
getalineofnegativeandpositivesiliconthatmakesitintoacircuit.Howeverforthisexperiment
wewon'tbemakingasiliconsolarcellinsteadwewillmakeatitaniumdioxidecelloradye
sensitivecell.Dyesensitivecellsworkverysimilartosiliconcells.Theonlydifferencesarethat
thesecellswillusetitaniumdioxideinsteadofsilicon,useraspberryjuice,andareless
expensive.

Materials
TitaniumDioxide
2Binderclips
Acetoneorrubbingalcohol
ConductiveGlassplates
Graphitepenciloraflame
Multimeter
Cottonpads/swabs
Alligatorclips
Hardpieceofnonporousplastic
2shallowdishes
Spoon
Demiwater
Freshraspberrys
Iodidesolution
Cooktop/hotplate

Steps
1. TakethetwopiecesofconductiveglassandwipethemwiththeAcetone.Fromhereon
onlytouchtheedgestoavoidfingerprintsmears.
2. Fromhereyouwillwanttotakeyourmultimeteranddeterminewhichsideisconductive.
3. Onceyouhavedeterminedthattakeoneoftheslidesandplaceitconductivesideup
andtheotherconductivesidedownonacottonpad.Setthesetothesidefornow.
4. Takeyourtitaniumdioxideandmixitwiththedemiwateruntilyoureachtheconsistency
ofagoo.
5. Takeyourconductivesideupglassandspreadthetaniumdioxideallovertheslide.(Try
nottooverspillonthesides.)
6. Nowyouwillwanttoputitontoahotplateandbegintoheatitupslowlytoavoid
cracking.Waitabouttwohours.
7. Afteritisdonebakingon,youwillneedtocrushupsomeraspberriesandsoakitinthe
raspberryjuicefor15minutes.
8. Whileitissoakingtaketheotherpieceofglassandflipitoversothattheconductive
sideisup.
9. Withagraphitepencildrawontheslidetocoveritwithgraphite.
10. Nowwhentheslideisdonesoakingdabitwithpapertoweltosoakuptheexcess
raspberryjuice.
11. Placethetwoplatestogetherallowingaboutacentimeterortwotohangoffandbinder
clipthemtogether.
12. Removeoneofthebiggerclipsandwithadropperputafewdropsofiodineontheedge
andwaitafewminutesandsoakuptheexcessiodine,andreplacetheclip.
13. Nowyoushouldhaveaworkingsolarcell.

Conclusion
Mysolarcelldidnotwork,howeverthereareafewreasonswhyitmightnothave
worked.Firstitispossiblethatthecellwastoosmallformetogetameasurablecurrentfromit.
WhenIorderedtheglassitwassoldtobeslightlylargerthanwhatIgot,butduetotime
restraintsIhadtostillruntheexperiment.Anotherreasonwhyitmayhavenotworkedwas
becausetherewasacrackintheglassafterheatingitup.Iamscepticalaboutthisbecauseit
didnotseemtogoallthewaythroughtheglasswhichleadsmetobelievethatitstillshould
havebeenabletotransfercurrenteffectively.Finallythetitaniumdioxidecouldhavenotbound
aswelltotheglassasitcouldhave.Aftersoakingitintheraspberryjuicethereseemedtobea
smallamountthathadcomeofthecellthatcouldhaveskewedtheflowofelectricity.

Eventhoughmysolarcelldidnotworkitwasexpectedtoproducearound25millivolts,
whichisaverysmallamount.IfIweretomakethisintoasolarpanelandcompareittothatof
siliconone,ofthesamesize,thesilicononewouldbeabout35%moreefficientinitsenergy
conversion.Thatleadsustothequestionofwhybotherwiththetitaniumdioxidesolarcells?
Welltheproblemwithsiliconisitsnotcheap,andcanbedifficulttoobtain.Comparedto
titaniumdioxidewhichissoabundantthatyoucanfinditeasilyinmanycheapmakeupsand
sunscreens.Alsoenvironmentallyitisbetter:comparedtosiliconitisnotasdifficulttoremove
fromtheground,whichinturnsreducestheamountoffossilfuelpollution.

Inconclusiontitaniumdioxidesolarcellsarenotaviablereplacementforsiliconsolar
cells.Thisissimplyduetobeinglessefficientthanasiliconone.Iftitaniumdioxidesolarcells
weretoeverreplacesiliconsolarcells,therewouldneedtobeaninvestigationintomakingit
moreefficient.Butbecauseofthematerialthesesolarcellsuses,itwillunlikelybeableto
surpassatraditionalsolarcell.

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