Microbe-Powered Batteries for Greener Technologies

Synopsis

Modern demand of portable electronics and computing have led to the development of batteries with high power densities. However, many of these options use highly toxic, volatile, and non-biodegradable chemicals. A battery was developed using common bacteria as its main generator of ions, with printed anode and cathodes on an specially-treated multi-layer paper membrane architecture. This developed battery offers potential for small, easily-manufactured power sources for disposable biomedical sensors, electronic chemical sensors, and environmental sensor applications.