Solar Currents
Today the students finished our discussion on semiconductors and the p-n junction. During our discussion of the LED, the students learned about a p-n junction under forward bias. This lesson discussed the mathematical equation explaining current density and output voltage that occurs upon illumination of a solar cell under reverse bias. In the experiment, the students synthesized titanium dioxide nanoparticles, coated them with anthocyanin and used these in coordination with carbon-based soot as a solar cell. The experiment went very well, with all students measuring some voltage, and some up to 0.6 V with ambient light. The students should try to light their LEDs they made earlier using the solar cell under bright sun or higher intensity light.
