SCIENCE TEC NEWS

New type of bio-compatible battery invented by researchers

Scientists have invented an entirely new kind of bio-compatible battery. The battery developed by researchers at University of Maryland in the US does the opposite. It moves electrons around in the device to deliver energy that is a flow of ions.

In traditional batteries, the electrical energy, or current, flows in form of moving electrons.(Source: Thinkstock)

Scientists have invented an entirely new kind of bio-compatible battery which produces the same kind of ion-based electrical energy as used by humans and other living things. In our bodies, flowing ions (sodium, potassium and other electrolytes) are the electrical signals that power the brain and control the rhythm of the heart, the movement of muscles, and much more.

In traditional batteries, the electrical energy, or current, flows in form of moving electrons. This current of electrons out of the battery is generated within the battery by moving positive ions from one end (electrode) of a battery to the other.

The battery developed by researchers at University of Maryland in the US does the opposite. It moves electrons around in the device to deliver energy that is a flow of ions. This is the first time that an ionic current-generating battery has been invented, researchers said.

“My intention is for ionic systems to interface with human systems,” said Liangbing Hu, professor at the University of Maryland.

“So I came up with the reverse design of a battery. In a typical battery, electrons flow through wires to interface electronics, and ions flow through the battery separator,” Hu said.

In the reverse design, a traditional battery is electronically shorted (that means electrons are flowing through the metal wires). Then ions have to flow through the outside ionic cables. In this case, the ions in the ionic cable – here, grass fibres – can interface with living systems.