Batteries get powered up with peptides
4 Mar 2015 by Evoluted New Media
Scientists have discovered that peptides can potentially be used to improve the performance of batteries.
Researchers at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County used a procedure known as Phage Display and found a peptide can that bind strongly to a component of batteries, potentially enhancing their performance.
The team used the method to screen more than one billion possible peptides in order to find one that would bind strongly to lithium manganese nickel oxide, a material used to make cathodes in batteries.
This peptide can also maintain a connection through multiple charging cycles and serve as conductive nanowires in Li-ion electrodes. It is expected that the peptide will improve the power and stability of future Li-ion batteries, allowing them to be smaller and maintain longer lifetimes.
The research was inspired by the way organisms such as molluscs use peptides to control the growth of their shells. These organisms demonstrate remarkable control in building complex nano- and macrostructures from inorganic materials like calcium carbonate.
“Biology provides several tools for us to solve important problems. By mimicking biological processes we can find the better solution,” said Evgenia Barannikova, a graduate student at UMBC.
The team is now testing the performance of the cathodes. The next step will be to make an anode by applying similar techniques. “I hope to demonstrate an entire biotemplated battery in my Ph.D. thesis,” Barannikova said.
