Solar Cells Made From a Spreadable Nanoparticle Paste

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."

Comments

Re:How slightly are we talking about here?

[Trepidity]

Considering it's got cadmium selenide, the current version is pretty toxic [pdf]. I assume the blurb is just trying to find a catchy way of saying that the actual preparation process is not difficult.

Re:China Will Win: Kids There Play With Cadmium No

[Trepidity]

If they get to play with mercury, I'd consider moving, because mercury is awesome.