Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com – @BednarChuck
While origami, the Japanese art of paper folding, can be used to create amazing structures, it seems like an unlikely source of inspiration for a new battery – yet that’s exactly what helped Binghamton University researchers come up the idea for their new power source.
By applying the concepts of origami to their research, Binghamton engineer Seokheun “Sean” Choi and his colleagues invented an inexpensive, bacteria-powered battery constructed out of paper, they wrote in the July edition of the journal Nano Energy. The battery generates power from microbial respiration and is capable of powering paper-based biosensors using only a lone drop of liquid that contains bacteria.
“Dirty water has a lot of organic matter. Any type of organic material can be the source of bacteria for the bacterial metabolism,” said Choi, adding that the technique should benefit those who have to work in remote parts of the world where access to resources is limited.
Working to develop a fully integrated, self-powered system
Since paper in inexpensive, readily available, and biodegradable, the researchers believe that it will help those creating diagnostic tools for disease control and prevention in developing nations. Also, since paper used capillary force to soak up a solution, external pumps and syringes are not required to use the battery, which can be folded into a matchbook-sized square.
Choi explained that he hopes to develop a self-powered system in which the paper-based battery could create sufficient energy to power a paper-based biosensor. He has been given a three-year, $300,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to work on developing such a system.
Currently, his battery functions using an air-breathing cathode created by spraying nickel onto one side of a regular piece of office paper. The anode is then screen-printed with carbon paint, creating what the researchers call a hydrophilic zone with wax boundaries. Among the benefits of this method is the cost, as the estimated expense of creating this battery is just five cents.
Choi, who has been working at Binghamton for less than three years, said that he was working on an earlier type of paper-based battery when he had a “lightbulb moment” that led him to come up with this new technique. He connected four of his devices in a series, and that by doing so, he managed to light-up a small LED. “At that moment, I knew I had done it,” he said.
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