The degradation of lithium-ion batteries that are currently so immensely common in most electronic devices that we use every day, as for example could be the case of the batteries that we usually find in our mobile phones, are a problem that increasingly worrying most scientists.
For this reason, there are different lines of research that pursue the development and manufacture of batteries that can be degraded and recycled more easily , without becoming a risk to the environment.
There is no doubt that the introduction of lithium-ion batteries has revolutionized technology in recent years, leading to huge advances in device development and other consumer goods in almost every industry. Although the availability of technology is always very positive, its rapid growth has led to key ethical and environmental problems , especially related to the use of these types of batteries.
For example, current lithium-ion batteries use high amounts of cobalt , which, in several well-documented international cases, has been shown to be a material extracted through child labor in hazardous environments. In addition, only a relatively small percentage is recycled , increasing both the demand for cobalt and other strategic elements.
A team of researchers from Texas A&M University, in the United States, has achieved a breakthrough that could lead to the production of batteries for implementation in electronic devices typical of our daily lives ending up moving away from cobalt.
In a paper published in the May issue of Nature , the scientists describe their research on a new completely metal-free battery technology that would use a polypeptide organic radical construct.
As the experts indicate in their article, if you start working with these polypeptides and the industry moves away from lithium, not only could the need to extract precious metals be avoided, but it would open up many possibilities to power portable electronic devices with the advantage addition of being able to increase the recyclability of new batteries.
This is due to the fact that polypeptide batteries, which are components of proteins, are degradable, recyclable, non-toxic and, in addition, much safer in all areas .
What are polypeptide batteries?
Organic radical batteries made entirely of polypeptides are batteries composed of macromolecules of redox active amino acids, which, being non-toxic and degrading on demand, would help solve the problem associated with recyclability .
The components of the new platform developed by these researchers allow the battery to degrade on demand under acidic conditions, in order to generate amino acids, degradation products and other basic components.
As they state, one of the main problems with current lithium-ion batteries is that they are not recycled to the degree that would be needed for the future economics of electrified transportation. In fact, “the lithium-ion battery recycling rate, right now, is just in the single digits.” And, although there are valuable materials in this type of battery, its recovery and obtaining is not only very difficult, but also tends to consume a lot of energy.
There is no doubt that this work marks a really significant progress towards the further development of sustainable recyclable batteries, capable of minimizing dependence on strategic metals , such as cobalt.
In fact, with the intention of developing recyclable batteries that are also sustainable, the researchers have already begun to work with the aim of using machine learning for the optimization of materials and the structure itself of the battery platform.
Reference: Tan P. Nguyen et al. Polypeptide organic radical batteries, Nature (2021). DOI: 10.1038 / s41586-021-03399-1
