Viruses Make A Battery

Batteries of the future need to deliver more energy, and they need to be smaller. Researchers at MIT think they have developed a technology that can, as they say, pave the way for these batteries of the future—using viruses. The development was peer-reviewed in the April 3 issue of the journal Science.
Scientists genetically engineered a bacteriophage—a virus that infects bacteria but is harmless to humans. A few years ago the team created a virus that coated itself in cobalt oxide and gold and self-assembled into a nanowire for the battery’s anode. The cathode’s a little more complicated. In the most recent publication, the team created viruses that coat themselves in iron phosphate and then grab onto carbon nanotubes. This creates a powerful cathode.
The working cathode and anode make the virus-battery comparable to more expensive existing battery technologies. The team is now preparing to look into using other materials such as manganese phosphate that could lead to higher voltage. They say this could hold the promise of relatively inexpensive, non-polluting, lightweight powerful batteries—a holy grail for an energy revolution.

用病毒做电池

未来的电池需要提供更多的能量，同时它们的体积需要变得更小。来自MIT(麻省理工学院)的研究者们已经开发出了一种技术，据他们称这种技术为未来实现这样的电池创造了条件。这种技术就是使用病毒。该项工作经过同行评审，发表在4月3日的《科学》（Science）杂志上。

科学家们利用转基因技术制造了一种噬菌体（噬菌体是一种能感染细菌但是对人类无害的病毒）。几年前，该研究小组制造了一种病毒，这种病毒能包覆在氧化钴和 金表面，然后自组装成为供电池阳极使用的纳米线。制备电池的阴极要更复杂一些。在最近发表的一篇文章中，该研究小组制造出了新的病毒，这种病毒能包覆在磷 酸铁的表面，然后与碳纳米管结合，从而形成强大的阴极。

这种新的工作阴极和阳极使得病毒电池能与目前昂贵的电池技术相媲美。该研究小组目前正准备寻找其它的材料，比如磷酸锰，这种材料能使电池获得更高的电压。他们说该项技术有望在未来实现制造价格低廉、没有污染、轻便强大的电池---这些都是人们在能源革命中孜孜以求的目标。