Make Electroluminescent (EL) Ink at Home - Re-doping Glow Powder

[jabberwork]

I would like to know the details of the test structure. What are the dielectric layers? How can you operated it with alternating current? I been working with OLED and my materials sandwiched between aluminium cathode and ITO anode. It operate only with direct current.

[1stsmosh]

Sweetee U need to look into STRONTIUM MOLYBDATE.....NASA developed it as very fine crystals that hold light for 12 to 24 hours!!!

[1stsmosh]

no gloves no safety glasses....naughty naughty..!! Please show safety equipment!!

[brianm734]

Hello Jeri, I was wondering if you have ever seen a transparent EL material. All of the EL compounds I have found are polycrystalline materials. I build Ytterbium fiber lasers at home and at work, and have always been interested in finding or making a Ytterbium doped EL material that is transparent at 1030nm. Normally you would use a 976nm laser diode to pump the Yb ion. If you could pump it directly with electricity it would be much cheaper and less complex. Thank you.

[yisteru]

thanks for this video.

[JohnnyEckTBR]

What was your reasoning for using glass frit? I read through one of the patents for this stuff, and they say they fired it "in a covered crucible in air." Do you think it makes a difference?

And if so, this glass frit stuff, is it similar to small-size lab glass beads?

Not that I'm trying to recreate this or anything...

[jeriellsworth]

@JohnnyEckTBR The glass is like the lid. It reduces the atmosphere that will reach the phosphors. Firing this in open air does not work well. (btw I don't have a crucible with a lid or that is what I would have used.)

[nathan7tube]

While trying to figure out electroless copper plating I found this: 2tu(dot)us/36ot

Copper sulphate and.. *drumroll* ascorbic acid. Available as vitamin C powder.

Result: copper nanopowder! Awesome!

They do something with ammonia, seem to keep the pH around 6, but you have to pay to see the entire paper.

[Madarpok]

You could try using CuCl2 as a dopant, you would get both Cu and Cl atoms.

[Icetigris]

Do you have a more perfected version of this with chlorine atoms yet?

[jeriellsworth]

@Icetigris It's been too cold out in my shop to work, so It's on hold for a month or two.

[mahnameisjaime1]

.... my chemistry teacher would love you lol

[jwriney]

Impressive hackage.

[jwriney]

Impressive hackage.

[ladangelo202]

your awesome thanks for posting these videos!

your on hack a day today they like your stuff too

hope to see more in the future

[ladangelo202]

your awesome thanks for posting these videos!

hope to see more in the future

[pdadio]

Will none of you spell Jeri's name correctly? J-E-R-I !!!! not Jerry...

[panzuman]

wait a sec, Zn+CuSO4-->ZnSO4+Cu. when you react zinc with coppuric sulfate you get zinc sulfate and copper metal wheras zinc metal and elemental sulfur create zinc sulfide which is the glowing powder i dont understand how this works...

[jeriellsworth]

@panzuman We are shooting for zinc sulfate in the solution. My experiment was based off of United States Patent 5702643

[JehuMcSpooran]

@jeriellsworth so why did you use the zinc sulfide from the original glow paint? could you have omitted that instead? Oh and how would you introduce the chlorine atom? Via zinc/copper chlorate?

[jeriellsworth]

@JehuMcSpooran ZnS:Cu glow paint is already in crystalline form, so it saves creating it and then heating to the melting point of ZnS. I discovered from patents that EL powder is almost the same as glow powder production, but with EL needing one extra doping step. I read that chloride salts will work for introducing the chlorine atom, but I'm not sure which will work. I'm guessing that the salts need to melt near or below 800c.

[AmazGraz]

Champoinship! I love do-it-youselfers. Next we will have a vacuum chamber for vacuum deposition huh? Imagine the possibilities. How about the possibility of injecting a gas, like from a welder, into the vial? Or perhaps it can be injected via tube, into the furnace into the vial? No wait! It can't be over. More. More. More. More. We all wanna make electrolumi-art! 

[AmazGraz]

Champoinship! I love do-it-youselfers. Next we will have a vacuum chamber for vacuum deposition huh? Imagine the possibilities.

[thewii552]

nice work jeri! (i really love the mspaint graphics)

[jmatzkin]

Thanks, Jerrie. I learn so much from your vids...

I just wonder why you aren't teaching at CalTech?

[fronkenpoop]

Jerry, this is remarkable. Thanks for taking the time to explain.

[Winsucker]

OH NOWZ! NOT THE FORBIDDEN ZONE!!!!1

[toyotaboyhatman]

Jesus Jerri, is there nothing you won't try? You are an inspiration

[vk2zay]

Excellent, glad the CuSO4 doping trick worked.

Have you tried Chloride-based fluxes, like KCl or NaCl or a eutectic mixture of the two? Fluoride fluxes are meant to work well also.

[morto360]

I really don´t know what to say... you are amazing!!!!! Love your videos :)

[rowey111]

Awesome vid, as per usual! Shame you cant put a coat of this stuff on a spare playfeild. Or would that be pinball sacrilege? :P

[da959]

Girl, you need to get out more...lol Just kidding! Interesting video and subject as always. Your curiosity about things is every bit as hungry as mine. For that I can only salute you.

[sonicase]

lol hardbody pinball

pretty interesting on the chemistry stuff

it seems like you would want less persistance if you were using it for EL though right? and more if you were wanting it to last if you had light shining on it

i guess it would depend on the lattice

[ZNahum81208]

Use some Muriatic Acid from any local hardware store in the pool section for the chlorine. If your doing this, I'm sure you already knew that.

[refa42]

If I were wearing a hat, it would be off now for Jeri.

It would be nice to hear how you absorb information. I mean, how you usually do recearch. Topic for a video perhaps?

For everyone else reading this: Trial and error is not the way to go with chemistry (or high voltage/current). Safety aspects slows the learning process a lot. Sure you can easily keep your skin intact, but your bones might melt :D (No joke. Jeri uses that stuff when making transistors)

[wizzra]

Jerry, all this self knowledge, and never had the time to learn about video shooting and editing ... ? !!!!!

[jeriellsworth]

@wizzra I've been working more on my mad scientist skills, instead of video editing skills.

[gushhnet]

@wizzra as long as the information is transmitted, you don't need fancy editing.

[LunaVorax]

When I saw "Valence" I was like "Noooo ! That's exactly what I'm studying at college D:".

I'll watch the video again when my mind will be less tired.

[Kevbo4]

Win!!

[SuperFinGuy]

How many watts are you using?

[thepackrat]

Awesome !

I love the whole band-gap / electron-photon emission thingie !

It's all science-like and stuff !

The fact that electrons can exist at specific energy level , can " jump" to other energy levels, but can NEVER EXIST in the space in-between has always facinated me !

My t-shirt idea;

" Electrons are Particles that Wave at You ! "

[darthtuttle]

When you say the voltages were pretty high, how high is high?

[jeriellsworth]

@darthtuttle The regular EL phosphors begin to light up at 50vac and if my supply is linear this start at approx 200 volts (The supply is unregulated)

[rjhall90]

@jeriellsworth Ouch, that's pretty high. What made you try this idea?

[frac]

I love all of your videos. I particularly like when you throw in the science behind the demo. I'm still holding out hope for another car video!

I kindly suggest you whip up a pop-screen for your microphone, though. A YouTube search for "Microphone Pop Screen" will yield a bunch of how-to videos.

If your mic is on a headset so you can't have a pop-screen, try bending it way off to the side or below your chin completely and adjusting the volume to compensate.