The winners of the 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry have now been announced. The award recognized the discovery and synthesis of so-called quantum dots, fundamental nanoparticles in contemporary nanotechnology.
This achievement inspired Camila Sastre, a second-year high school student in São Paulo, to embark on her own journey of research into these tiny particle structures.
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Camila in the school laboratory. (Image: Colégio Dante Alighieri/Reproduction)
The fruit of her labor was the creation of a solar panel shown to be 15% more efficient in capturing light and generating electrical energy.
What makes her achievement even more remarkable is the fact that Camila used mining waste in her project, making it environmentally friendly. sustainable.
The achievement made her recognized with the “Highlight in Innovation in Exact and Earth Sciences” award at the National Fair of Science and Technology Dante Alighieri (FeNaDante), a pre-scientific initiation exhibition at Colégio Dante Alighieri, where study.
Furthermore, she was selected to compete in the International Science and Technology Exhibition (Mostratec) that will take place soon in Rio Grande do Sul.
The project for this solar panel started in 2022. To do this, she had access to samples rich in silicon dioxide from the Fundão dam disaster, which occurred in Mariana (MG) in 2015.
These samples were kindly provided by the mining company Samarco in 2017 and were stored in the chemistry laboratory of the school where the young woman studies, the aforementioned Colégio Dante Alighieri.
Camila went through a process that involved acid leaching with hydrochloric acid, magnetic separation and fusion with sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) to convert these wastes into sodium silicate.
The silicate was essential for the dispersion of the carbon quantum dots, which, in turn, were synthesized with chitosan and acetic acid.
However, Camila's journey to make the solar panel work effectively was not without its challenges. She faced problems with product crystallization and sodium silicate leaks from the plates.
After countless attempts, he was finally successful. A prototype created by the student generated 30.5 mW (milliwatts) of energy, around 15% more than conventional solar panels used in the laboratory.
This achievement validated their hypothesis that quantum dots could increase the efficiency of panels by shifting the spectrum of ultraviolet light into the absorption band of solar radiation. solar panel.
The young woman has been an admirer of the Polish chemist Marie Curie since her childhood and, with the dream of becoming scientist since the 6th year of elementary school, now plans to develop a life-size version of the panel solar.
Her next steps include system adjustments and tests on larger boards, as well as simulations of real conditions, such as exposure to sun, rain and wind.
Camila Sastre's ultimate goal is to transform this device into a marketable product and, if it proves effective, consider patenting it.
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