Researchers have discovered an innovative way to produce small sized lithium-ion batteries from 3D printing that can pack more power than larger batteries used in laptops and electric cars.
A research team from the Harvard University and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has discovered a new way to print micro batteries using 3D printing technology. The printed micro-batteries, as small as a grain of sand with a width lesser than that of a human hair, hold promising use in the field of medicine and communications.
Several researches including the small flying robots have been delayed due to the lack of small sized power sources that can fit into these robots. But the researchers now have a way to speed up the process and bring these micro-batteries in use to redefine innovative technology.
Jennifer A. Lewis, senior author of the study, who is also the Hansjörg Wyss Professor of Biologically Inspired Engineering at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), and also led the study with co-author Shen Dillon, an assistant professor of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
The latest invention not only answers the question of printing batteries but also motivates the idea of building micro-technology. These powerful batteries can be useful in medical implants, flying insect-like robots and tiny cameras and microphones that fit on a pair of glasses that rely on efficient power sources.
Researchers created an ink using the nanoparticles of one lithium metal oxide compound for the anode and nanoparticles from another for the cathode. This eliminated the chances of the ink injecting out of the printer's nozzle in the form of droplets and melting. In fact, the ink hardened as the layers of ink were formed. Researchers then put down up to 16 layers of lithium-metal-oxide particles forming a tightly packed heap of anodes and cathodes. The process was completed by filling an electrolyte solution.
"Jennifer's innovative microbattery ink designs dramatically expand the practical uses of 3D printing, and simultaneously open up entirely new possibilities for miniaturization of all types of devices, both medical and non-medical. It's tremendously exciting," Wyss Founding Director Donald Ingber, who is also a Professor of Bioengineering at Harvard SEAS, said in a press release.
The results appear online in the journal of Advanced Materials.
Watch the video below that demonstrates how the micro-batteries were printed:
