Development of the magnesium-air battery on paper which is inspired by the photosynthesis cycle
The research team at the Advanced Institute for Materials Research (AIMR) at Tohoku University has created a magnesium-air battery on a simple paper basis that can be used, for example, in GPS sensors or other sensor technology. Inspired by the way plants apply photosynthesis, they took advantage of the recyclability and lightness of paper, making the battery promising for a greener energy source.
The related research was published in RSC Applied Interfaces. The battery also has the useful feature of being activated through water.
For over two millennia, paper has been a staple of human civilization as the basis for writing, but now this also becomes the basis for an extremely lightweight battery. Furthermore, the other components of the battery are not plastic, but based on abundant and low-cost materials.
Among other things, they are biodegradable and this makes them applicable on a large scale.
Paper battery diagram and its application on a GPS sensor
Now, a team of researchers from Tohoku University has presented a high-performance, paper-based, water-activated magnesium-air (Mg-air) battery.
“ We drew inspiration for this device from the respiration mechanism of plants,” emphasized Hiroshi Yabu, corresponding author of the study. “Photosynthesis is analogous to the process of charging and discharging batteries. Just as plants use solar energy to synthesize sugar from soil water and carbon dioxide in the air, our battery uses magnesium as a substrate to generate energy from oxygen and water.”
To make the battery, Yabu and his colleagues glued a sheet of magnesium to the paper and added the cathode catalyst and gas diffusion layer directly to the other side of the paper.
The paper battery achieved an open circuit voltage of 1.8 volts, a 1.0 volt current density of 100 mA/cm² and a maximum output of 103 milliwatts/cm².
“Not only has the battery demonstrated impressive performance results, but it operates without the use of toxic materials – instead using carbon cathodes and a pigment electrocatalyst that have passed rigorous evaluations,” Yabu added.
The researchers put the battery to the test in a pulse oximeter sensor and a GPS sensor, illustrating its versatility for wearable devices.
The fact that it can be activated with water also provides a sort of switch that can facilitate activation in certain conditions: imagine a GPS sensor connected to one of these batteries in an emergency device to be installed on a ship or a plane flying over the sea.
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The article Developing the magnesium-air battery on paper that is inspired by the photosynthesis cycle comes from Economic Scenarios .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/messa-a-punto-la-batteria-magnesio-aria-su-carta-che-si-ispira-al-ciclo-della-fotosintesi/ on Sat, 13 Apr 2024 05:15:48 +0000.