Myceliotronics are the latest development in biodegradable electronic components – battery parts made from mushrooms. The mycelium skin of a tree fungus can be used as a base layer for flexible circuit boards, as well as the casing and separator for a zinc–carbon battery.
The perfect sustainable electronic device should contain only components that can be easily recycled or are biodegradable. Electronics made from plant materials can’t usually compete with commercial devices when it comes to performance and durability. Paper-based electronics are highly biodegradable, but making paper requires a lot of energy and water. Scientists in Austria have now created myceliotronics – electronics and batteries that incorporate biodegradable mushrooms as a major component. They created a humidity and proximity sensor with a Bluetooth module out of a mycelium circuit board and mushroom batteries. Source: © Soft Matter Physics Division, Johannes Kepler University Linz/Doris DanningerThe biodegradable circuit board showcasing myceliotronics For the circuit board, the mycelium skin of a wood-decaying fungus, Ganoderma lucidum, acts as the substrate. This base layer, which makes up around 37% of a circuit board’s total mass, is usually made from plastic. The fungus is grown on beech for two weeks, until a thin ‘skin’ covers the wood. Once harvested, this skin is covered with a copper layer and galvanised with gold, which is etched with a laser to create traces – the circuit board equivalent to wires. The mycelium’s electrical properties are similar to paper, but it can be bent thousands of times while remaining fully functional. The mushroom’s porous structure also makes for a good battery separator – a component that is also made from plastic in commercial batteries. Soaked in an electrolyte liquid, the separator is placed inside a zinc–carbon battery setup, which is encased in a gold-plated mycelium skin packaging. Two of these batteries were sufficient to power the team’s humidity sensor at around 1.9V. Since the metallic parts can be easily separated from the mushroom components, the battery and circuit board are entirely recyclable and compostable.ReferencesD Danninger et al, Sci. Adv., 2022, 8, eadd7118 (DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.add7118)Katrina KrämerSenior science correspondent, Chemistry World Related articlesFeatureWhen will molecular electronics make the connection?2022-10-24T08:34:00ZComputer chips based on single molecules may remain a work in progress, finds James Mitchell Crow but the technologies developed along the way are being used by chemists to explore their reactionsFeatureUsing ions to connect life to machines2020-08-24T07:47:00ZIonotronic materials are beginning to show how life’s signals can be aligned with electronics. James Urquhart speaks to the scientists who are exploring the emerging frontierFeatureQuantum chemistry on quantum computers2017-07-21T11:19:00ZThe special properties of quantum computers should make them ideal for accurately modelling chemical systems, Philip Ball discovers More NewsNewsUK government upholds £20 billion commitment to research and development2022-11-18T15:15:00ZBut a longer-term pledge of £22 billion has quietly disappeared in Jeremy Hunt’s first autumn statement as chancellorResearchMars’ water came from outer space2022-11-18T09:54:00ZAsteroids from the outer solar system would have delivered enough water to cover the red planet in a 300m-deep oceanNewsCall for UK government to ban plastic waste exports2022-11-17T14:30:00ZParliamentary committee emphasises reducing and reusing plastics to eliminate waste SubscribeAdvertiseTopicsIssuesContributors HelpContactPrivacyCookiesTerms of useAccessibilityPermissions Our mission News and events Campaigns Awards and funding Global challenges Support our work © Royal Society of Chemistry Registered charity number: 207890 This website collects cookies to deliver a better user experience. See how this site uses cookies. This website collects cookies to deliver a better user experience. Do not sell my personal data. Este site coleta cookies para oferecer uma melhor experiência ao usuário. Veja como este site usa cookies. Site powered by Webvision Cloud