Bacteria help generate electricity from the air

Obtaining environmental energy from the environmentenvironments using solar panels or wind farms have certain restrictions that are not dependent on a person and do not allow to continuously receive electricity throughout the day around the clock anywhere.
However, scientists have found a way to continuously generateenergy. For this purpose, the unique properties of microbes from the genus Geobacter were used to form bacterial nanowires capable of conducting electricity. Such microscopic “sedimentary organisms” were discovered about thirty years ago in the silt of the Potomac River.

Research Team from the University of MassachusettsAmherst created a device called Air-gen, capable of producing electricity from air around the clock. The basis of the device is a thin layer of protein nanowires with a diameter of 7 μm, which are placed between two electrodes in air. The nanofilm adsorbs water vapor from the environment, which allows the generation of direct current between the electrodes.

Previously, this property of hydrovoltaic generationelectricity was seen from graphene. However, only short electrical pulses were generated, the duration of which was limited to a few seconds.

Air-gen device allows you to generateDC voltage of about 0.5 V on a film with a thickness of 7 micrometers with a current density of about 17 microamps per square centimeter. Connecting multiple devices linearly increases voltage and current, which will allow you to receive energy to recharge small devices. Electricity production from the air using Air-gen devices is available even in regions with extremely low humidity, such as the Sahara desert.

Source: Nature