Use a virus that powers the Lithium-air battery

In recent years, lithium-ion technology, which promises to improve the energy density of lithium-ion batteries, has been the subject of much research aimed at extending the range of vehicles. electricity.

>>> Video: Lithium-air battery technology

And with the help of a genetically engineered virus , researchers at MIT have found a way to improve the performance and durability of Lithium-air batteries. At the same time, the energy density of the battery is two to three times higher than the Lithium-ion battery.

The main reason that lithium-air batteries have a higher energy density than a Li-ion battery is that instead of using heavy chemical compounds, it uses oxygen from the air to react with the positive electrode. a carbon-based cathode . The battery's electrodes consist of nanowires and they are formed during high-energy chemical reactions. The nanofibers woven together to create a flat-section electrodes.

By using a modified version of the M13 virus , MIT has been able to increase the surface area of a nanofiber strand with a width of 80nm. The M13 virus is capable of "absorbing metal molecules from water and attaching them to structural shapes similar to abnormal growth of abalone, " said Angela Belcher, associate professor of energy at WM Keck. a member of the MIT College of Cancer Research.

More specifically, the virus will "build" wires with manganese oxide - a material commonly used as the cathode of a Lithium-air battery with a coarse surface texture. Instead of a flat surface, the manganese oxide spikes form the conductor by conventional chemical methods, creating a larger contact surface for possible chemical reactions. This process also produces a 3D overlapping structure instead of single conductors, thereby increasing the stability of the electrode. In addition, another advantage of this method is that the activity of the virus can be made at room temperature.

Belcher expects the new Lithium-air battery manufacturing process to be carried out with research, equipment and materials available. Currently, the team has only created a cathode that has applied the virus-based process and the material has undergone a 50 charge / discharge test. According to them, more research is needed, especially in the field of electrolysis of batteries to commercialize Lithium-air batteries.