Bacteria produce a unique material that can be used as anode material for lithium-ion batteries. (Credit: Flickr @ Andy Armstrong https://www.flickr.com/photos/andyarmstrong/)A group of scientists at the Okayama University, Tokyo Institute of Technology and Kyoto University has shown that iron oxide nanoparticles produced by bacteria in groundwater has a potential to be used as anode material for lithium-ion batteries.
These nanoparticles are formed into nanotubes by bacteria. The findings were published the journal ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces (see footnote).
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Iron oxide nanoparticles (b) are formed into nanotubes (a) by bacteria. (Credit: See citation at the end of this article)
J. Takada, H. Hashimoto, and their colleagues have discovered that amorphous iron oxide nanoparticles produced by Leptothrix ochracea show potential as a very efficient anode material for lithium-ion batteries.
Leptothrix ochracea is a bacterium from the genus of Leptothrix and the family of Comamonadaceae. It is an aquatic bacteria living worldwide. Leptothrix ochracea occur in iron-rich freshwater and wetlands with only low concentrations of organic matter.Furthermore, they have revealed that the presence of minor components, silicon (Si) and phosphorus (P), in the original nanoparticles leads to specific electrode architecture, with iron (Fe)-based electrochemical centers embedded in a silicon and phosphorus-based amorphous matrix.
These bacteria could produce additional unique materials with iron oxide such as the ones shown above under various culture conditions. These materials are expected to be better battery anode materials for the next generation.
This study was supported by Grants-in-Aid from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology of Japan, and by the Japan Science and Technology Agency.
Hashimoto, H., Kobayashi, G., Sakuma, R., Fujii, T., Hayashi, N., Suzuki, T., Kanno, R., Takano, M., & Takada, J. (2014). Bacterial Nanometric Amorphous Fe-Based Oxide: A Potential Lithium-Ion Battery Anode Material ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 6 (8), 5374-5378 DOI: 10.1021/am500905y
