Recently, a team of engineers at the University of California, San Diego developed a scalable biofuel cell that can extract energy from sweat and power electronic products such as LEDs and Bluetooth adapters.
The battery consists of a row of dots, each of which is interconnected by a spring-shaped structure. Half of the dots make up the anode of the cell, and the other half make up the cathode. This spring-like structure can be stretched and Bending, so that the battery is flexible, and does not damage the anode and cathode.
Biofuel cells have an enzyme that oxidizes the lactic acid present in human sweat to produce electricity, thereby converting sweat into an energy source. To increase energy density, engineers use screen printing methods on the top of the anode and cathode. A three-dimensional structure of carbon nanotubes was constructed. This structure allows engineers to load more enzymes for each anode site. This enzyme reacts with lactic acid and silver oxide at the cathode site to generate electricity.
Compared with existing wearable biofuel cells, the new biofuel cell generates 10 times more energy per surface area. In the future, it is expected to power a range of wearable military equipment.
