Fabricating Genetically Engineered High-Power Lithium-Ion Batteries Using Multiple Virus Genes

Abstract

Development of materials that deliver more energy at high rates is important for high-power applications, including portable electronic devices and hybrid electric vehicles. For lithium-ion (Li+) batteries, reducing material dimensions can boost Li+ ion and electron transfer in nanostructured electrodes. By manipulating two genes, we equipped viruses with peptide groups having affinity for single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) on one end and peptides capable of nucleating amorphous iron phosphate(a-FePO4) fused to the viral major coat protein. The virus clone with the greatest affinity toward SWNTs enabled power performance of a-FePO4 comparable to that of crystalline lithium iron phosphate (c-LiFePO4) and showed excellent capacity retention upon cycling at 1C. This environmentally benign low-temperature biological scaffold could facilitate fabrication of electrodes from materials previously excluded because of extremely low electronic conductivity.

Sulphur–TiO2 yolk–shell nanoarchitecture with internal void space for long-cycle lithium–sulphur batteries

“…T here has been a steady increase in the demand for highperformance and long-lasting rechargeable batteries for a wide range of applications, ranging from portable electronics and consumer devices to electric vehicles and large-scale grid energy storage [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9] . Unfortunately, the energy density and cycle life of existing lithium-ion batteries remain insufficient for many of the aforementioned applications, prompting the urgent need for new electrode materials with much higher charge capacities [1][2][3][4][5] .…”

SnO2/graphene composite with high lithium storage capability for lithium rechargeable batteries

“…There is an intensive research effort aimed at developing new electrode materials for lithium rechargeable batteries [1][2][3]. While graphite, which is used as an anode material in current lithium rechargeable batteries, has served as a reliable electrode due to its low operating voltage and good cyclability, its low specific capacity of about 372 mA·h·g -1 hinders the adoption of lithium batteries in new applications such as electric vehicles and large scale energy storage units, which demand higher levels of energy and power density.…”

Orientation and Incorporation of Photosystem I in Bioelectronics Devices Enabled by Phage Display

“…This utilization of the binding motifs against inorganic substrates allows the fabrication of complex multicomponent devices by displaying selected peptides on the surfaces of phages. For example, viruses with a motif binding single walled carbon nanotubes and a sequence recognizing iron phosphate act as environmentally benign low‐temperature biological template for the fabrication of state‐of‐the‐art lithium‐ion batteries 17. Virus particles with PD‐derived peptides can also act as a biological scaffold for the assembly of active materials for use in dye‐sensitized solar cells 18…”