“Remove the Kapton tape and activate the battery.”
“But Captain, this battery must be 100 years old!”
“They will do well, trust me.”
It may sound like a scene from Star Trek It’s a rerun, but it could actually be something that unfolds in the future of Earth. The secret is to contain the dormant bacteria until it’s time to call them into the power generation service.
The new biobattery builds on previous research conducted at Binghamton University (BU), where a research team led by Seokhoon Choi created an edible battery that is activated when a pH-sensitive membrane dissolves in the small intestine. .that’s the cause Bacillus subtilis Bacteria come to life and start producing spores. This is the process of generating enough power to power small sensors such as cameras that can be used to monitor gut health.
Bacteria-based batteries are known as microbial fuel cells, or MFCs, and Choi has created versions that use the body’s own bacteria and saliva to generate electricity, as well as origami-like versions that run on dirty water. increase.
In the latest round of research, Choi’s team (based in BU’s Bioelectronics and Microsystems Laboratory) has recaptured the ability of bacteria to remain dormant until given the right conditions to function. But this time, scientists focused on creating a battery that works outside the body and is useful even after decades of being on the shelf.
“We wanted these bio-batteries to be portable, storable, and capable of generating electricity on demand,” said Choi. “The question is, how do we store the bacteria long term until we use them? If so, how do we provide on-demand battery activation for quick and easy power generation? And how do you improve power?”
To answer these questions, the team Bacillus subtilis A graphene hydrogel that is excellent at absorbing moisture from the air. The fuel cell assembly was then sealed with Kapton-His tape. Kapton tape works in temperatures ranging from -500 to 750°F (-296 to 399°C). When the tape is removed, the hydrogel pumps moisture into the bacteria, which start to form spores.
After an hour, the battery provided enough power to power an LED light, a thermometer, and a small digital hygrometer. Heating the fuel cell reduced the time to full power to 20 minutes. Moreover, after he kept it at room temperature for a week, the battery he started up was losing only 2% power.
Once activated, its ability to last for a week without losing much power is certainly impressive. But an even bigger claim to fame for tiny biobatteries is their potential to remain unactivated for up to 100 years and still be fully functional, as long as there’s enough moisture in the air to activate the bacteria. is the fact that researchers believe there is after removing the tape.
This study was funded by the Office of Naval Research and is published in the journal. small.
Source: Binghamton University
