Flexible, non-toxic hydrogel batteries could power soft, wearable and implantable electronics, according to a study.
Researchers at Pennsylvania State University have taken inspiration from the biology of electric fish, such as eels, to develop a hydrogel-based soft material capable of conducting electricity.
Joseph Najem, assistant professor of mechanical engineering and corresponding author on the paper, said: “The electrocytes in electric eels are ultra-thin biological cells, capable of generating over 600 volts of electricity in a brief burst. These cells achieve very high-power densities, meaning they can produce a lot of power from small volumes.”
The team’s approach involved layering multiple types of hydrogels – water-rich materials capable of conducting ions – in a specific pattern that mimics the ionic processes electric eels use to generate high-power electrical bursts.
Using a spin coating technique, which deposits ultra-thin layers of material on a rotating surface, they layered...