Viruses Boost Performance of Lithium-Air Battery Used In Electric Cars

Posted by Soulskill on Wednesday November 13, 2013 @09:56AM from the go-get-a-sick-kid-to-cough-on-your-battery dept.

rtoz writes "MIT researchers have found that adding genetically modified viruses to the production of nanowires will boost the performance of lithium-air battery used in electric cars. The key to their work was to increase the surface area of the wire, thus increasing the area where electrochemical activity takes place during charging or discharging of the battery (abstract). The increase in surface area produced by their method can provide a big advantage in lithium-air batteries' rate of charging and discharging. Unlike conventional fabrication methods, which involve energy-intensive high temperatures and hazardous chemicals, this process can be carried out at room temperature using a water-based process."

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Other prior research by Forever+Wondering · 2013-11-13 10:19 · Score: 5, Interesting

Researchers at the University of Maryland have been using the tobacco mosaic virus for similar purposes: http://phys.org/news/2010-12-virally-nano-electrodes-boost-energy-capacity.html

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