Vitamin B2, activated charcoal and Nori are just some of the components of the first rechargeable and fully edible battery created at the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Milan, Italy, and described in the journal Advanced Materials.
The prototype saw the light of day in the IIT’s Molecular Electronics Laboratory directed by Mario Caironi with funding from the European Research Council (ERC). Co-author of the study is Ivan Ilic, from the same laboratory.
The battery is the first concrete expression of the recently growing field of research into edible electronics. In the future, such batteries could be used to power diagnostic instruments or to monitor food quality, or even to power future edible robots.
The battery is composed of riboflavin, known as vitamin B2, which acts as the anode, and quercetin, found in almonds and capers, which acts as the cathode. Activated charcoal has been used to increase electrical conductivity, while in this prototype the electrolyte is water-based.
The separator, needed in every battery to avoid short circuits, is made from Nori seaweed, commonly used to make sushi. Lastly, electrodes are encapsulated in beeswax from which two food-grade gold contacts (the foil used by pastry chefs) on a cellulose derived support come out.
© RIPRODUZIONE RISERVATA
