New! Sign up for our free email newsletter.
Science News
from research organizations

Scientists create stretchable battery made entirely out of fabric

New microbial fuel cell could be integrated into wearable electronics

Date:
December 7, 2017
Source:
Binghamton University
Summary:
Scientists have developed an entirely textile-based, bacteria-powered bio-battery that could one day be integrated into wearable electronics.
Share:
FULL STORY

A research team led by faculty at Binghamton University, State University of New York has developed an entirely textile-based, bacteria-powered bio-battery that could one day be integrated into wearable electronics.

The team, led by Binghamton University Electrical and Computer Science Assistant Professor Seokheun Choi, created an entirely textile-based biobattery that can produce maximum power similar to that produced by his previous paper-based microbial fuel cells.

Additionally, these textile-based biobatteries exhibit stable electricity-generating capability when tested under repeated stretching and twisting cycles.

Choi said that this stretchable, twistable power device could establish a standardized platform for textile-based biobatteries and will be potentially integrated into wearable electronics in the future.

"There is a clear and pressing need for flexible and stretchable electronics that can be easily integrated with a wide range of surroundings to collect real-time information," said Choi. "Those electronics must perform reliably even while intimately used on substrates with complex and curvilinear shapes, like moving body parts or organs. We considered a flexible, stretchable, miniaturized biobattery as a truly useful energy technology because of their sustainable, renewable and eco-friendly capabilities."

Compared to traditional batteries and other enzymatic fuel cells, microbial fuel cells can be the most suitable power source for wearable electronics because the whole microbial cells as a biocatalyst provide stable enzymatic reactions and a long lifetime, said Choi.

Sweat generated from the human body can be a potential fuel to support bacterial viability, providing the long-term operation of the microbial fuel cells.

"If we consider that humans possess more bacterial cells than human cells in their bodies, the direct use of bacterial cells as a power resource interdependently with the human body is conceivable for wearable electronics," said Choi.

This work was supported by the National Science Foundation, the Binghamton University Research Foundation and a Binghamton University ADL (Analytical and Diagnostics Laboratory) Small Grant.


Story Source:

Materials provided by Binghamton University. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Journal Reference:

  1. Sumiao Pang, Yang Gao, Seokheun Choi. Flexible and Stretchable Biobatteries: Monolithic Integration of Membrane-Free Microbial Fuel Cells in a Single Textile Layer. Advanced Energy Materials, 2017; 1702261 DOI: 10.1002/aenm.201702261

Cite This Page:

Binghamton University. "Scientists create stretchable battery made entirely out of fabric." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 7 December 2017. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/12/171207114948.htm>.
Binghamton University. (2017, December 7). Scientists create stretchable battery made entirely out of fabric. ScienceDaily. Retrieved November 20, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/12/171207114948.htm
Binghamton University. "Scientists create stretchable battery made entirely out of fabric." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/12/171207114948.htm (accessed November 20, 2024).

Explore More

from ScienceDaily

RELATED STORIES