Fabrication of Nanostructured Manganese Oxide Electrode with M13 Phage Template

Abstract

Applications of biotechnology in drug delivery and medical instrumentation and energy storage have been gaining popularity. Especially, utilization of biotechnology for energy storage is attracting attention due to its environmentally friendly nature and cost efficiency. In this project, a filamentous bacteriophage, M13, to fabricate metal oxide battery electrodes. M13 phage is 6.5 nm wide and 800 nm long, and can act as a template to produce nano-sized metal oxide particles. A method to prepare manganese oxide electrodes was developed, where the phage is integrated with the oxide into a nanocomposite. The composite material was used to make a high capacity electrode for lithium ion batteries. The M13 templated manganese oxide, Mn3O4, could deliver a high initial capacity of 766 mAh/g, and recorded a stabilized discharge capacity of ~800 mAh/g even after 60 cycles.