Textile-based biobatteries under different forms of deformation such as twisting and stretchingScientists at Binghamton University in the US have developed for the first time a flexible and stretchable microbial fuel cell (MFC), or bacteria-powered biobattery, that is made completely out of fabric. The new textile-based biobattery could offer an ideal basis for future textile-based biobatteries that can be incorporated into the next generation of wearable electronics.
The team, led by Seokheun Choi, whose work was published in Advanced Energy Materials [Pang et al. Adv. Energy Mater. (2017) DOI: 10.1002/aenm.201702261], showed that the biobatteries are able to demonstrate stable electricity-generating capability when tested under repeated stretching and twisting cycles. The work could satisfy the increasing demand for flexible and stretchable electronics that can be easily and reliably integrated into different types of surrounding to then collect real-time information – technology that is driven by the hectic evolution of wireless sensor networks for the Internet-of-Things (IoT) – even when deformed into complex and curvilinear shapes, such as moving body parts or organs.
As Choi said, “This stretchable and twistable power device printed directly onto a single textile substrate can establish a standardized platform for textile-based biobatteries and will be potentially integrated into wearable electronics in the future.”
The group had previously demonstrated various biobatteries on paper – generating electricity from bacteria, including liquid derived from renewable and sustainable wastewater, mainly for point-of-care diagnostic applications in resource-limited environments. Despite the difficult operating conditions that require bending, twisting, folding and stretching, their experience of paper MFCs pushed them to develop a fully flexible, stretchable and entirely textile-based biobattery. Compared to traditional batteries and other enzymatic fuel cells, such MFCs could be more suited to wearable electronics as the whole microbial cells as a biocatalyst provide stable enzymatic reactions and a long lifetime.
“This stretchable and twistable power device printed directly onto a single textile substrate can establish a standardized platform for textile-based biobatteries and will be potentially integrated into wearable electronics in the future”Seokheun Choi
In addition, sweat that is produced by the human body could be a potential fuel that can support bacterial viability, helping the long-term viability of the fuel cells. As Choi points out, “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”.
To help develop the technology, the group now intend to attempt to increase the power involved substantially to assist potential applications, as well as show that sweat generated by the human body could become a potential fuel to support bacterial viability, which would assist the long-term operation of the MFCs.