In today's modern world the demand for more efficient forms of energy storage is increasing everyday. Electrochemical cells are the most widely used form of portable energy storage and is growingto become the most highly used large scale energy storage. From mobile devices to cars, batteriesare integrated into many facets of daily life, but are reaching their limit. While batteries have beenimproving over the years the growth is slow and staggered. An improvement similar to the discoveryof lithium ion batteries needs to be made in order to keep up with demand. This improvement can bemade by interfacing biology and batteries. My research focuses on using a bio-inspired approach to address battery performance. We use thetechnique of phage display to isolate solid binding peptides (SBP) that bind specifically to Lithium NickelCobalt Oxide (LNC). Once SBPs are isolated for LNC they will be heterologously expressed in E. coliand combined with carbon nanotube binding peptides. These multifunctional peptides will be usedto bio-tether conducting CNTs with electro active materials and thus make better conducting hybridelectrodes. This new model for the electrode would enhance multiple aspects of battery performanceincluding capacity, cyclalbilty, and power.

Enhanced lithium ion battery via biological engeneering

246th National Meeting (2013)

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