Engineers build better batteries using a blood molecule read more at here www.spinonews.com/index.php/item/1366-engineers-build-better-batteries-using-a-blood-molecule

Lithium-oxygen batteries hold much promise, but before they can supplant lithium-ion batteries as the industry standard they must overcome several problems.

To that end, researchers at Yale University have their sights set on an oxygen-carrying blood molecule they hope will make Li-O2 batteries commercially viable.

Lithium-oxygen batteries can hold a charge for an impressive period, but they're inefficient. They also produce lithium peroxide, which builds up on the oxygen electrodes and inhibits performance.

Researchers have been looking for a catalyst that can trigger the decomposition of lithium peroxide and other lithium oxide bi-products back into lithium ions and oxygen. Now, scientists at Yale believe they've found what they've been looking for.

Heme is a type of molecule found in hemoglobin, the red pigment in blood. In lab tests, scientists proved that its introduction to Li-O2 batteries could reduce the energy required to boost the efficiency of the batteries charge-discharge cycles.

As researchers explained the heme molecules work as a redox mediator, lowering the energy threshold required to trigger electrochemical reactions.

Andre Taylor, associate professor of chemical and environmental engineering, said, when you breathe air, the heme molecule absorbs oxygen from the air to your lungs and when you exhale, it transports carbon dioxide back out. So, it has a good binding with oxygen, and we saw this to enhance these promising lithium-air batteries.

If the discovery can be commercially realized, it would be a boon to the animal products industry, which currently find ways to safely dispose of blood.

Taylor said, we’re using a biomolecule that tradition is just wasted. We can take the heme molecules from these waste products and use it for renewable energy storage.