3 Simple Ways to
Share What You Make

With Instructables you can share what you make with the world — and tap into an ever-growing community of creative experts.

PhotosPhotos

Share one or more photos of a project, recipe, or whatever you've made, quickly and easily.

Step by StepStep-By-Step

Share your step-by-step photos with text instructions of what you made so others can do it too!

VideoVideo

Share your how-to video. You'll need your embed code from a video site such as YouTube.

My home made solar cell step by step

Step 3Cooking the copper

Cooking the copper
cook the copper for at least 30 min.
As the copper gets hotter, the colors are replaced with a black coating of cupric oxide. This is not the oxide we want, but it will flake off later, showing the reds, oranges, pinks, and purples of the cuprous oxide layer underneath.
The last bits of color disappear as the burner starts to glow red.
When the burner is glowing red-hot, the sheet of copper will be coated with a black cupric oxide coat. Let it cook for a half an hour, so the black coating will be thick. This is important, since a thick coating will flake off nicely, while a thin coat will stay stuck to the copper.
After the half hour of cooking, turn off the burner. Leave the hot copper on the burner to cool slowly. If you cool it too quickly, the black oxide will stay stuck to the copper.
« Previous StepDownload PDFView All StepsNext Step »
23 comments
Aug 11, 2010. 6:50 PMnatester632 says:
There's 11 minutes left and there isn't any black
Aug 11, 2010. 6:43 PMnatester632 says:
Mine started forming white-ish spots, is that normal???
Jul 8, 2010. 10:39 AMCrazy-Inventor says:
can you tell me why should we heat the copper. or what happens me when copper is heated.
Jun 26, 2009. 6:45 PMskizzilini says:
Is the total required cooking time for this 30 minutes or 1 hour? This may be obvious but I can't tell.
Jun 29, 2009. 5:40 PMzoone says:
so 30 min by the way how much did you pay all the materials
May 4, 2009. 7:25 PMiBurn says:
Spelled "Cooking" wrong there buddy.
May 5, 2009. 1:29 PMFlumpkins says:
You spelled "oops" wrong there buddy.

lol
May 5, 2009. 6:05 PMFlumpkins says:
LOL really?
May 5, 2009. 3:09 PMiBurn says:
Someone needs to come up with a universal language...then acutally USE it.
May 5, 2009. 3:28 PMiBurn says:
But that was a comment...seeing as you have to hit the "post comment" button and all....
May 5, 2009. 3:52 PMiBurn says:
I can swear in german... ;P
May 5, 2009. 3:46 PMiBurn says:
go to study but that no other ti ga de mejo by far! ghe ne go do de ti bae, xe boto me almost half a fate so cueo el CUSI all day at work caga high that you are no more! Either you have bad spelling...or google's wrong...I'm going against google on this one....
May 5, 2009. 4:02 PMiBurn says:
Wait....what language is it?
May 5, 2009. 4:08 PMiBurn says:
What time is it there? like 12? COME ON!
I't only four here. =D
May 8, 2009. 6:10 AMJoseph Meisenhelder says:
Cool project. The world needs to get beyond ethnocentrism and get a universal language!
May 25, 2009. 4:10 AMverdastel says:
Let's learn esperanto, a universal language :)
May 25, 2009. 6:11 AMJoseph Meisenhelder says:
I wonder if that is the optimal universal language. I would like a world conference to convene and begin and establish a mandate to develop a language. It will involve computers, most probably, to get it perfected.

Pro

Get More Out of Instructables

Already have an Account?

close

All Steps Viewing
View all steps of an Instructable on the same page when you're a Pro Member.

Upgrade to Pro today!
29
Followers
5
Author:alessiof76