We’ve seen the development of dissolvable brain implants and other so-called “transient electronics” that are slowly washed away and disappear some time after implantation. One thing missing but required for these devices to be fully implantable and dissolvable is a battery that does the same at about the same rate. Now researchers at Iowa State University are reporting on a lithium-ion battery that provides about 2.5 volts of power before disintegrating in water in about thirty minutes.
Though the power produced by this battery is only sufficient to run a calculator for about fifteen minutes, the proof-of-concept is enough to point to great potential for diagnostic and therapeutic devices that don’t require a visit back to the doctor for explantation. In particular, brain implants would probably benefit the most since their removal can be particularly challenging and dangerous.
From the study:
The battery takes advantage of a close variation of the active materials used in conventional Li-ion batteries and can achieve and maintain a potential of >2.5 V. All materials are deposited form polymer-based emulsions and the transiency is achieved through a hybrid approach of redispersion of insoluble, and dissolution of soluble components in approximately 30 min.
Study in Journal of Polymer Science, Part B: Polymer Physics: Physical–chemical hybrid transiency: A fully transient li-ion battery based on insoluble active materials…
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