Textile-Based Bacteria-Powered Biobatteries

 Technology Overview:

 The fabrication and performance of a flexible and stretchable bacteria-powered biobattery (or Microbial Fuel Cells) monolithically integrated into a single sheet of textile substrate are reported. The single-layer textile battery uses bacteria as a biocatalyst to produce electricity. The battery demonstrates a stable performance with repeated stretching and twisting cycles. Sweat generated from the human body can be a potential fuel to support bacterial viability, providing the long-term operation of the battery. Furthermore, the direct use of human bacterial cells as a power resource interdependently with the human body is conceivable for wearable electronics.

 Advantages:

 

• Compared to traditional batteries and other enzymatic fuel cells, the bacteria-powered battery can be the most suitable power source for wearable electronics because the whole microbial cells as a biocatalyst provide stable enzymatic reactions and long lifetime.
• Sweat generated from the human body can be a potential fuel to support bacterial viability, providing the long-term operation of the battery.
• The direct use of human bacterial cells as a power resource interdependently with the human body is conceivable for wearable electronics.