• Armutlulu, Andac
• Allen, Sue Ann Bidstrup
• Martinez, Adam W.
• Tsang, Melissa
• Allen, Mark G.

Abstract

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>This study presents the design, fabrication, and testing of biodegradable magnesium/iron batteries featuring polycaprolactone (PCL) as a packaging and functional material. The use of PCL encapsulation minimized the electrochemical cell volume and supported longer discharge lifetimes and higher discharge rates than state-of-the-art biodegradable batteries. Specifically, the electrodes were separated and insulated by a 5 µm-thick PCL layer that served as both a battery packaging material and a permeable coating for physiological solution to penetrate and activate the battery. A systematic investigation of the electrode size, discharge rates, electrolyte selection, and polymeric coating revealed the critical reactions and phenomena governing the performance of the Mg-based biodegradable batteries. Comparison with previous reports on biodegradable batteries and medical-grade non-degradable lithium-ion batteries demonstrated the superior performance of PCL-coated Mg/Fe batteries at these size scales, which exhibited an energy density of 694 Wh kg<jats:sup>−1</jats:sup> and a total volume of 0.02 cm<jats:sup>3</jats:sup>.</jats:p>

Topics

• density
• energy density
• Magnesium
• Magnesium
• Lithium
• iron