Virus battery could increase efficiency

A new lithium ion battery is more efficient and powerful after researchers successfully harnessed the power of a tiny virus.  Researchers manipulated two genes from the M13 virus and were able to develop an iron phosphate shell. The team was able to make a tiny electrode by attaching a carbon nanotube to the shell.

The MIT researchers, during previous research, used bacterial viruses to duplicate the negative electrode, or anode, of a battery — during the most recent research, however, MIT researchers used viruses for a positive electrode, called a cathode.  When combined, the bacterial anodes and cathodes offer a better performing battery than those currently being used by consumers.

Manufacturers may be interested in the battery since it’s relatively inexpensive and the batteries can be built extremely quickly, several media reports said.  Furthermore, the new MIT-created electrode is also more environmentally friendly than batteries used today.

"The advantage of using genetics is that things can be made better and better," Professor Belcher said recently.  "You are not stuck with a particular material; you have selection and evolution on your side because it can be genetically altered.  Scale is the issue.  But we are not going to scale until we have the right material.  We believe this is possible and has commercial implications otherwise we would not be researching in this area."

Despite lithium ion batteries being able to store and release electrical energy, the cathode isn’t a very good conductor because the movement of ions and electrons through the cathode is slow.  Slow movement ultimately makes the battery less efficient when it’s time to release energy, researchers said, which the new MIT-created battery fixes.