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Green algae harnessed to make paper-based batteries
A press release from Uppsala University, Sweden, claims that a group of researchers at the Ångström Laboratory have discovered that the distinctive cellulose nanostructure of Cladophora algae can serve as an effective coating substrate for use in environmentally friendly batteries.
The findings have been published in an article in Nano Letters.
“These algae has a special cellulose structure characterized by a very large surface area,” says Gustav Nyström, a doctoral student in nanotechnology and the first author of the article. “By coating this structure with a thin layer of conducting polymer, we have succeeded in producing a battery that weighs almost nothing and that has set new charge-time and capacity records for polymer-cellulose-based batteries.”
This is the first attempt at using algae cellulose for battery applications. This type of cellulose has a unique nanostructure, entirely different from that of terrestrial plants. Its large surface area made it a candidate for energy-storage applications.
“We have long hoped to find some sort of constructive use for the material from algae blooms and have now been shown this to be possible,” says Maria Strømme, professor in nanotechnology and leader of the research group. “The battery research has a genuinely interdisciplinary character and was initiated in collaboration with chemist professor Leif Nyholm. Cellulose pharmaceutics experts, battery chemists and nanotechnologists have all played essential roles in developing the new material.”
Batteries that use this algal cellulose, coated with a 50 nm layer of polypyrrole, can store up to 600 mA per cm3 with 6 percent loss through 100 charging cycles.
“This creates new possibilities for large-scale production of environmentally friendly, cost-effective, lightweight energy storage systems,” says Strømme.
“Our success in obtaining a much higher charge capacity than was previously possible with batteries based on advanced polymers is primarily due to the extreme thinness of the polymer layer,” says Nyström.
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Electrochemical technique improves hydroxyapatite coatings on implants
SEM of electrochemically applied coating of hydroxyapatite on metal implant.
Speaking of hydroxyapatite, there apparently is a new process for coating metal implants that could improve the outcomes of total joint replacement surgeries. Researchers at Tel Aviv University say their new electrochemical method improves upon current implant choices by enhancing an implants’ functionality, longevity and integration.
Hydroxyapatite is a great coating - one that nicely mimics the inorganic contents of bone and other body materials, and provides an important barrier between the metallic components of an implant and blood or other fluids.
The first method typically thought of for applying coatings would probably be plasma-spraying. Noam Eliaz, a professor at the university’s School of Mechanical Engineering, instead tried putting an prospective implant into a bath of electrolyte solution and applying an electric current.
He says his coating is actually better than one applied with a plasma-spraying technique. His studies show that the electrolytic method resulted in a 33% decrease in the level of materials failure (i.e., delamination) in the implants he coated.
Eliaz presented his findings to the 215th meeting of the Electrochemical Society in San Francisco in May 2009. In addition, a new 12-week implantation study, recently published in the journal Acta Biomaterialia, favorably compared the performance of the Tel Aviv University coatings to those of current commercial coatings.
Next up, Eliaz is going to focus on integrating nanoparticles and pharmaceuticals into the coating. “We can incorporate biological materials because the electrochemical process works at lower temperatures. The reinforcement of nanoparticles will improve the mechanical properties and may also improve the biological response. Drug incorporation may reduce the risk of post-surgery infection and even catalyze the growth of the bone,” says Eliaz.
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Center to leverage NC nanobiotech research
The Center of Innovation in Nanobiotechnology, located in North Carolina, is going to be using a new $2.5 million grant to bring to market some of the biotech discoveries being made at universities in the state.
The grant - which actually represents a “Phase II” grant - is from the North Carolina Biotechnology Center. NCBC started the COI program in 2008, “to together North Carolina’s best scientific and technical minds in the life sciences. This program is designed to focus the state’s efforts in biotechnology research, development and commercialization in targeted industrial sectors important to economic development and job creation . . . (NCBC) will work with university researchers, technology transfer offices, industrial partners, non-profit stake holders as well as regional and state-wide community leaders to establish nine Centers of Innovation (COI). Initial Centers of Innovation will complement efforts already under way in the state to align academic and industrial resources.”
COIN is just one of several “Centers of Innovation” in North Carolina. So far, NCBC has funded four with $100,000 Phase I seed monies. The other centers are the Advanced Medical Technology Center of Innovation, the Marine Biotechnology Center of Innovation and the Drug Discovery Center of Innovation.
COIN used the Phase I funds to hire an executive director and forge a business plan. This Phase II round of funding is to be used to let COIN mature and spin itself off from NCBC as a self-sustaining entity.
Three universities initially played major roles in the in the beginning of COIN: North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and Wake Forest University. Now, Duke University, North Carolina State University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and UNC-Charlotte are being brought into the picture.
In a NCBC news release, Gwyn Riddick, director of the Biotechnology Center’s Piedmont Triad Office, is quoted as saying, “This is the first major grant developed jointly by these three research universities. In developing nanobiotechnology, we aim to create a strong, region-specific science brand for the Piedmont Triad and the state.”
Brooks Adams, COIN executive director, says in the release that, “Our mission is to connect the dots in the world of nanobiotechnology, including academic and industry researchers, entrepreneurs, managers and investors. This center will use nanobiotech to add value, meet market needs, solve problems and benefit humanity. The result will be economic growth and job creation across the state.”
According to its website, NCBC is a private, non-profit corporation supported by the state’s General Assembly.
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Video of the week - SNL’s Self-Assembling Process for Fabricating Tailored Thin Films
From Sandia National Lab, this video demonstrates what is a relatively simple, economical nanotechnology coating process that enables development of nanoparticle thin films with architectures and properties unattainable by any other processing method.
The video simplifies things a little so, no, the guy on the boardwalk at your favorite beach who makes custom t-shirts with an airbrush won’t be getting a job at SNL anytime soon.
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