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edible batteries

16.05.2023

Researchers at the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) have created edible rechargeable batteries that could make medical devices or toys safer for children.

The battery prototype uses riboflavin (vitamin B2) as the anode and quercetin as the cathode. Nori seaweed serves as a separator to help avoid short circuits, food-grade gold contacts are connected to electrodes with beeswax, and activated charcoal is used to increase electrical conductivity.

The battery operates at 0,65V and can deliver up to 48µA for 12 minutes or a few microamps for an hour.

The battery's edible composition makes it safer to ingest, so it can be used to power small electronic devices for short-term medical procedures. Future versions with higher power and/or longer life cycles could replace toxic batteries in implanted medical devices.

They can also be used in children's toys or pet toys. According to otolaryngologist Christopher Grindle, about 2500 children in the US swallow miniature batteries each year. Within 15 minutes of ingestion, a chemical reaction may begin, resulting in tissue damage, and after 2 hours, life-threatening injuries may develop.

One of the authors of the study, in a comment to Ars Technica, said that batteries can damage tissues in two ways: either due to the electrolysis of water, or directly due to the toxicity of the materials that make up their composition:

"Water electrolysis is a phenomenon where electricity above 1,2 volts (virtually all commercial batteries) splits water into oxygen and hydrogen (explosive gas), and this is very dangerous."

An edible battery operates at voltages below this 1,2 V threshold, so it does not run the risk of causing water electrolysis.

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