Shewanella
oneidensis thrives on metal ions, converting them to metals like iron that
serve as
nutrients for
other microbes. The bacterium was shown to be harmed by the compound nickel
manganese cobalt
oxide, which is produced in nanoparticle form and is poised to become the
dominant material
in the lithium ion batteries that will power portable electronics and electric
vehicles.
(Illustration by
Ella Marushchenko, University of Minnesota)
(January 4, 2016 ) The
material at the heart of the lithium ion batteries that power electric
vehicles, laptop computers and smartphones has been shown to impair a key soil
bacterium, according to new research published online in the journal Chemistry
of Materials.
The study by researchers at the University of
Wisconsin—Madison and the University of Minnesota is an early signal that the
growing use of the new nanoscale materials used in the rechargeable batteries
that power portable electronics and electric and hybrid vehicles may have
untold environmental consequences.
Researchers led by UW–Madison chemistry Professor Robert J.
Hamers explored the effects of the compound nickel manganese cobalt oxide
(NMC), an emerging material manufactured in the form of nanoparticles that is
being rapidly incorporated into lithium ion battery technology, on the common
soil and sediment bacterium Shewanella oneidensis.
“As far as we know, this is the first study that’s looked at
the environmental impact of these materials,” says Hamers, who collaborated
with the laboratories of University of Minnesota chemist Christy Haynes and
UW–Madison soil scientist Joel Pedersen to perform the new work.