Green Chemistry: Design and Function—Blackberry Solar Cell—Student Laboratory Kit
By: The Flinn Staff and Beyond Benign
Item #: AP8366
Price: $73.65
In Stock.
Use fruit to build a dye-sensitized solar cell (DSC) and measure its electrical characteristics. This experiment, developed in partnership with Beyond Benign, will bring chemistry from the abstract into students’ everyday world.
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Product Details
Use fruit to build a dye-sensitized solar cell (DSC) and measure its electrical characteristics. The DSC is built using conductive glass plates as supports for the anode and the cathode. The anode is nanocrystalline titanium oxide that is stained with a dye to absorb visible light, and the cathode is graphite. The cell is filled with an iodine/iodide electrolyte solution that acts as a redox catalyst. This lab introduces students to a huge number of chemistry topics, including materials chemistry, alternative energy, solid state chemistry, electrochemistry, sustainability, green chemistry and nanotechnology. Moreover, students observe the direct application of chemistry as they see evidence for light’s conversion to electricity. This experiment, developed in partnership with Beyond Benign, will bring chemistry from the abstract into students’ everyday world. Includes reproducible student handouts, Teacher Notes and all necessary chemicals.
Complete for 24 students working in groups of 4.
Specifications
Materials Included in Kit:
Iodine/potassium iodide electrolyte solution, 25 mL
Nitric acid solution, 0.1 M, 50 mL
Titanium oxide, nanocrystalline, 2 g, 2
Binder clip, ¾", 14
Culture (petri) dish, 90 x 15 mm, 7
Electrical conducting glass, 14
Lens paper, 4" X 6", 3
Microscope slides, plastic, 7
Pipet, Beral-type, thin stem, 30
Correlation to Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)†
Science & Engineering Practices
Asking questions and defining problems
Developing and using models
Planning and carrying out investigations
Obtaining, evaluation, and communicating information
Disciplinary Core Ideas
MS-PS1.B: Chemical Reactions
MS-PS3.D: Energy in Chemical Processes and Everyday Life
MS-ESS3.C: Human Impacts on Earth Systems
HS-PS1.B: Chemical Reactions
HS-LS2.C: Ecosystem Dynamics, Functioning, and Resilience
HS-ESS3.C: Human Impacts on Earth Systems
Crosscutting Concepts
Energy and matter
Systems and system models
Performance Expectations
MS-PS1-3. Gather and make sense of information to describe that synthetic materials come from natural resources and impact society.
MS-PS3-3. Apply scientific principles to design, construct, and test a device that either minimizes or maximizes thermal energy transfer.
MS-ESS3-3. Apply scientific principles to design a method for monitoring and minimizing a human impact on the environment.
HS-PS3-3. Design, build, and refine a device that works within given constraints to convert one form of energy into another form of energy.
HS-PS1-2. Construct and revise an explanation for the outcome of a simple chemical reaction based on the outermost electron states of atoms, trends in the periodic table, and knowledge of the patterns of chemical properties.
HS-ESS3-4. Evaluate or refine a technological solution that reduces impacts of human activities on natural systems.
HS-LS2-7. Design, evaluate, and refine a solution for reducing the impacts of human activities on the environment and biodiversity.