Copper solar abundance

Natural isotopes of copper and their solar abundances... 

The temperature of 50% condensation of a given element in the Solar Nebula defined by Wasson (1985) is 1037 K for Cu and 660 K for Zn. The much more volatile character of Zn with respect to Cu conditions the relative abundances of the two elements among the dififerent classes of chondrites. Copper concentrations vary from 80 to 120 ppm in carbonaceous and ordinary chondrites (Newsom 1995). In contrast, Zn concentrations decrease from 310 ppm in the volatile-rich Cl to 100 ppm in CO and CV, and to 50 ppm in ordinary chondrites. McDonough and Sun (1995) estimate the Cu and Zn content of the Bulk Silicate Earth to be 30 and 55 ppm, respectively. 

The proportions with respect to iron of vanadium-51, manganese-55 and cobalt-59, formed as manganese-51, cobalt-55 and copper-59, respectively, also agree with abundances observed in the Solar System. The overall coherence of this behaviour suggests that appropriate conditions for synthesis of iron peak elements should be sought in... 

Although conventional solar cells based on silicon are produced from abundant raw materials, the high-temperature fabrication routes to single-crystal and polycrystalline silicon are energy intensive and expensive. The search for alternative solar cells has therefore focused on thin films composed of amorphous silicon and on other semiconductor heterojunction cells (e.g., cadmium telluride and copper indium... 

Yttrium is a moderately abundant element in Earth s crust. Its abundance is estimated to be about 28 to 70 parts per million. That makes yttrium about as abundant as cobalt, copper, and zinc. As with other elements, the abundance of yttrium is quite different in other parts of the solar system. Rocks brought back from the Moon, for example, have a high yttrium content. 

Nonrenewahle resources include the abundant metals (such as iron and aluminum), scarce metals (gold and copper), materials used for energy (fossil fuels and uranium minerals), building materials (limestone, crushed stone, sand, and gravel), and other miscellaneous minerals (halite or natural salt). Running water, wind power, and solar power are not included among materials used for energy because they are renewable sources. 

Colloidal synthesis of metal chalcogenides has been developed to be used as nanocrystal inks to produce high efficiency solar cells with the lower fabrication costs. Recent research on these materials has focused on the use of abundant and low toxicity elements such copper, iron, tin, lead and sulphur. Several methods have been developed for the synthesis of these materials and considerable progress has been made in controlling the size, shape and surface properties of the nanocrystals. This chapter will provide the most recent developments for the synthesis and use of colloidal nanocrystal inks for solar energy. 

Ternary and quaternary materials based on copper chalcogenide nanomaterials have been developed as promising materials for sustainable energy production, due to their abundance and low toxicity. In addition to their use as light absorbers in solar cells, copper chalcogenide nanocrystals have also been used as electrode materials in Li-ion batteries and high efficiency counter electrodes in dye/quantum dot sensitized solar cells as well as for NIR photothermal therapy. 

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