Scientists develop battery that can run on tears, sweat and urine

Researchers at Fudan University in China are developing flexible batteries that uses saline solution as the electrolyte and it is proposed as a safer alternative for wearable or implanted electrical devices.

When eventually developed the batteries can run on bodily fluids like tears, sweat and even urine.

According to a paper by the researchers, the batteries could offer a safer way to power wearable or implanted devices, the paper published in the the journal Chem proposes.

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‘Most existing energy storage systems are based on strong corrosive or toxic electrolytes, posing a huge safety hazard as a result of solution leakage,’ the study authors write.

The research proposes two forms of flexible batteries: one shaped like a piece of tape with the electrodes separated by a thin sandwich layer, and one shaped like a threat with two nano-tube electrodes inside.

The scientists said that soduim sulfate, a non-toxic chemical often used in detergents, worked best as an electrolyte.

But they added that a simple saline solution, or salt water like that of bodily fluids, also performed well.

 

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