JCE Online Journal of Chemical Education
 | Subscriptions  | Software Orders  | Support  | Contributors  | Advertisers  | 

JCE Print
   Current Issue
 Previous Issues
 Supplements
 Search JCE Index

JCE Digital Library
   DigiDemos
 QBank
 SymMath
 WebWare

JCE Software
   Latest Releases
 Software & Video
 Downloads
 Support

Only@JCE Online
   JCE Online Store
 JCE HS CLIC
 JCE Discussion Forums
   Biographical Snapshots
 ChemEd Resource Shelf
 Featured Molecules
 Hal's Picks
 Project Chemlab
 Reviewed WWW Sites
 "Web-Ed" Articles

About JCE
   Features
 Publications
 Operations
 Outreach
 Contact Us


  Home > JCE Print > Journal of Chemical Education > Issues > 1998  > June  >
In the Laboratory
Demonstrating Electron Transfer and Nanotechnology: A Natural Dye-Sensitized Nanocrystalline Energy Converter
Greg P. Smestad and Michael Gratzel
Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells, P.O. Box 51038, Pacific Grove, CA 93950
Cover
June 1998
Vol. 75 No. 6
p. 752
Abstract
A unique solar cell fabrication procedure has been developed using natural anthocyanin dyes extracted from berries. It can be reproduced with a minimum amount of resources in order to provide an interdisciplinary approach for lower-division undergraduate students learning the basic principles of biological extraction, physical chemistry, and spectroscopy as well as environmental science and electron transfer. Electron transfer is the basis of the energetics that drives the processes of life on Earth, occurring in both the mitochondrial membranes of living cells and in the thylakoid membranes of photosynthetic cells of green plants and algae (1). Although we depend on the petroleum and agricultural products of this electron and energy transfer, one of the greatest challenges of the 21st century is that we have yet to create devices that can be used to tap directly into the ultimate source of this energy on an economic scale. An experimental lab procedure was therefore created in order to illustrate the connections between natural and man-made solar conversion within a three-hour lab period.
More Information
*  Citation
 Smestad, Greg P.; GrŠtzel, Michael. J. Chem. Educ. 1998 75 752.
*  Keywords
 Photochemistry, Electron Transport, Plant Chemistry, Electrochemistry, Excited States/Energy Transfer, Laboratory Instruction, Dyes
*  History
 Created:
Last Updated:		 June 23, 1999
June 24, 2005
<< Previous Article Table of Contents Next Article >>
  Home > JCE Print > Journal of Chemical Education > Issues > 1998 > June > Page 752


Subscriptions
 Subscription Info
 Order Forms

JCE HS CLIC

Our Secondary School editors work hard to distill all the JCE materials to produce a fraction of particular interest to high school teachers. We call it CLIC.
 JCE HS CLIC

Contributions Welcome
JCE welcomes your submission
 Contributors' Corner

Advertisers
In recent years we have worked hard to better match our advertisers with our readers. When shopping for chemistry education materials, visit our advertisers' WWW sites first.
 Recent Advertisers

Be An Ambassador
Take JCE along on your outreach missions. Copies of the Journal, guest access to JCE Online, our publications catalog, and more are available for your participants.
 Outreach with JCE

Comments to
jceonline@chem.wisc.edu		 Copyright © Division of Chemical Education, Inc., American Chemical Society.
All rights reserved.