Apple and Google just announced new tablets and smartphones touting the latest technological advances, but one thing those devices can't brag is a battery made with portobello mushrooms. According to new research from engineers at the University of California at Riverside, however, future gadgets might. 
 
 In a paper published in the journal Nature Scientific Reports on Tuesday, researchers from the university's Bourns College of Engineering describe how they created a new type of high-carbon lithium ion battery component using heat-treated nanoribbons from the skins of portobello mushrooms. 
 
 They did that in an attempt to replace synthetic graphite as the current industry standard for anodes, or positive terminals. Synthetic graphite has a high manufacturing cost because it requires significant chemical preparation and activation, researcher Mihri Ozkan told UCR Today. Moreover, the preparation process uses a series of acids and bases that are harmful to the environment, so researchers from a number of institutions are searching for alternatives that are inexpensive, easy to produce and environmentally friendly. 
 
 Beau Lark/Corbis 
 
 Portobello mushrooms are an ideal candidate to replace synthetic graphite for a multitude of reasons, the researchers say. The mushrooms become just the right kind of porous when heated to about 1,100 degrees Celsius (2,012 degrees Fahrenheit), giving them much more space for liquid and air to pass through. This heat-treatment creates more room for the storage and transfer of energy and, theoretically, better batteries. 
 
 Perhaps more importantly, portobello mushrooms are high in potassium salt, which makes the pores more accessible to the electrolytes in the battery with each charge and discharge cycle, which could actually increase the battery's capacity over time. So instead of a battery that degrades with each cycle and requires more frequent recharges, mushroom batteries might actually get better with age. 
 
 Mushroom lithium ion batteries aren't going to replace traditional batteries anytime soon, as the researchers say the technology needs more optimization before such biological anodes can replace the standard synthetic graphite ones. But the paper shows that batteries made out of organic biological materials that are cheap, environmentally friendly and easy to produce are feasible. 
 
 You can learn more about the team's research by reading the article in full on the journal Nature Scientific Reports' online site here. Now, all we need are some batteries made out of olives and green peppers and we'll have one truly powerful pizza combination. ||||| Magnesium Ion Some researchers are looking beyond lithium. The Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency for Energy (ARPA-E) is funding high-risk, high-reward technology, such as the magnesium ion battery being developed at Pellion Technologies, an MIT spin-off. Pellion says its batteries will have twice the energy density as existing lithium-ion batteries for both consumer products and electric vehicles. At the same time, Toyota researchers in Michigan say they are developing their own magnesium battery for an EV that can run twice the distance as current batteries on a single charge, but don’t expect it until 2020. The race is on. 
 
 Lithium Air One materials scientist told me that lithium air is the "grand slam home run" of energy density. Lithium-air batteries differ from lithium-ion batteries in that they use carbon for their positive electrode instead of metal oxides. Carbon is lighter and reacts with oxygen in the surrounding air to produce electrical current. Although it promises a 1,000-mile range instead of just 125 miles for electric vehicles, lithium air batteries have also proven to be unstable. The big problem is that lithium ignites when it contacts moist air. But IBM researchers in California and Switzerland reported this month that they have solved a key problem in the battery’s electrochemistry by finding a different kind of electrolyte solution. IBM hopes to have a prototype lithium-air battery by 2013. Startups like Berkeley-based PolyPlus are also hunting for this "holy grail" of battery tech. Critics say that lithium-air research has been underway for two decades without complete success. 
 
 Solid State Lithium Ion For electric vehicles, weight, range and safety are the big concerns. One idea is using solid state technology that doesn’t have a liquid electrolyte solution for a lithium-ion fuel cell. "That gives our cells greater energy density and also potentially reduces system complexity dramatically,” said Ann Marie Sastry, CEO of Ann Arbor-based Sakti3. The firm's batteries pack more power into less space, said Sastry, a University of Michigan professor of materials science and engineering. There's no flammable material either, something that’s recently plagued the Chevy Volt’s battery. GM and Khosla Ventures are backing Sakti3’s research and development efforts. Meanwhile in Japan, Toyota announced recently that its own solid state battery with a 600-mile range will be ready for roll-out sometime around 2015. 
 
 Sodium Ion Pittsburgh-based Aquion Energy is betting on simple, non-toxic materials for their grid storage battery system. "It’s made out saltwater, cotton, charcoal and dirt, actually lithium manganese oxide," said Ted Wiley, Aquion’s vice president of business development. "Everything we're made out of is cheap and staying cheap." Aquion is building shipping-container-size storage cells for solar, wind and other renewable energy producers who need to store the electricity they make before selling it to the grid. It’s a hybrid battery using the food preservative, sodium sulfate, and is based on research coming out of Carnegie Mellon University’s school of engineering. This simple and inexpensive concept should also work to augment diesel generators in remote areas, Wiley said, or back up the power supply of homes and businesses. 
 
 Lithium Imide When Leyden Energy’s Noam Kedem was at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas earlier this month, he was struck by the fact that almost nobody could talk on the phone after 3 p.m. "Everyone was running from charger to charger," Kedem said. To meet the demand for more power and longer life, Fremont, Calif.,-based Leyden is using a unique electrolyte salt solution with existing lithium ion technology. Kedem says that doubles the number of laptop or cellphone battery charges from 350 cycles to more than 800. Kedem says their batteries can also operate up to 140 degrees Fahrenheit without producing hydrofluoric acid or the swelling that can occur when batteries heat up as they run multiple applications. Canada’s Dr. Battery retailer began selling Leyden’s first rechargeable battery pack, and the firm is beginning mass production of tablet and cellphone batteries this year. Kedem says the firm is testing a prototype electric vehicle battery using the same electrolyte platform. 
 
 What do smart phones, electric vehicles and solar panels have in common? They all demand more and more battery power to keep our homes, jobs and vehicles running. Lithium ion is still the "gold standard," but researchers are looking at the entire periodic table for new combinations of elements that can conduct and store electrons in smarter ways. And the sooner they find it, the sooner society can get off fossil fuels and use more sustainable energy sources. “With the combination of new materials, new design concepts, and new production and manufacturing methodologies, I believe we will get there,” said Esther Takeuchim, professor of advanced power systems at SUNY Buffalo, Here’s a look at five new battery techs – some ready for market in the next year, others just over the horizon: 
 
 Mushrooms never cease to amaze. They’re one of the weirdest organisms on the planet, and we keep coming up with unexpected uses for them. Actually, some people think mushrooms aren’t from this planet at all. Really. 
 
 Now comes word that researchers at Researchers at the University of California, Riverside Bourns College of Engineering have found yet another use for mushrooms — in batteries. 
 
 Magic Mushrooms In My Yard: Photos 
 
 The UC research team has developed a new kind of lithium-ion battery anode using portobello mushrooms, which could eventually replace the industry standard of synthetic graphite. Besides being less expensive and eco-friendlier, the mushrooms are potentially more efficient as well, thanks to their highly porous composition. 
 
 The development could have a fairly big impact in multiple industries, actually. We’re likely to be using a lot more batteries in coming years, particularly in consumer electronics and electric vehicles. By using biological materials, we can bring down costs and expend less energy in the manufacturing process. 
 
 Synthetic graphite, on the other hand, has a relatively high manufacturing cost due to specific preparation and purification processes that can also be harmful to the environment, according to the research team. 
 
 Some Mushrooms Glow, And Here’s Why 
 
 The mushroom anodes’ porosity creates more space for the transfer of energy, which can improve battery performance. But even better, according to the UC team, mushroom anodes could actually result in batteries that increase in efficiency over time, due to the organic material’s high potassium salt content. 
 
 “With battery materials like this, future cell phones may see an increase in run time after many uses, rather than a decrease, due to apparent activation of blind pores within the carbon architectures as the cell charges and discharges over time,” says researcher Brennan Campbell in press materials accompanying the announcement. 
 
 Mushrooms are also, as a rule, more tasty than graphite. Everybody wins. The research findings were published today in the journal Nature Scientific Reports. ||||| Structural characterization was conducted on the PM CSTs using SEM, observing pyrolysis-induced morphological transformations at the micro- and nanoscale. From the micrographs in Fig. 2, it can be seen that the common microstructural feature is nanoribbons, with a sometimes wrinkled appearance. They make up an extremely thin, secondary electron-transparent array of interconnected, branching ribbons with widths of about 10 μm, lengths of several tens of microns or longer, and a thickness of about 20–100 nm. A key structural difference making 700CSTs (Fig. 2a,b) distinct from 900CSTs (Fig. 2c,d) and 1100CSTs (Fig. 2e,f) is the presence of round salt pockets. These salt pockets are thought to form during heating, as water escapes and naturally-present biological salts aggregate, both within the chitin-based organics, and on the surface. At temperatures above 900 °C, these salt pockets disappear, having exceeded the melting points of most salts present. It should also be noted that, especially in Fig. 2a,e, the nanoribbons form a network. There is also layering and/or pseudo-layering, as evidenced in Fig. 2c, which shows a lateral view of the layered ribbon networks. 
 
 Figure 2: Low to high magnification SEM of PM CST anodes heat-treated at 700 °C (a,b), 900 °C (c,d), and 1100 °C (e,f) (scale bars for (a–f), respectively: 100 μm, 10 μm, 50 μm, 10 μm, 100 μm, and 10 μm). Full size image 
 
 Observations were also made on higher-magnification SEM micrographs of the various PM CSTs. As mentioned, biological salts (primarily KCl) organize in pockets of varying sizes, and begin to create additional void space at 700 °C. However, the melting point of KCl is 770 °C, and above this temperature the salts escape the carbon structure more completely. As captured in Fig. 3a,b, salt deposits are still present at the surface of the nanoribbons, having a wide diameter distribution (although some pores are still formed). Beginning in Fig. 3c,d, no surface salts or salt pockets are present, and instead there is a hierarchically porous texture. Pores observable from SEM have diameters between 26 nm or higher, down to an observable 6 nm, which is the lowest feature size observable from the SEM images. From this data, it is confirmed that this material becomes mesoporous upon pyrolysis, with pore sizes of 6–26 nm observable by SEM. Images in Fig. 3e,f, representing the 1100CSTs, display an even wider range of porosity than the 900CSTs, with macropores of up to 100 nm in diameter. To confirm that porosity exists throughout the bulk of the nanoribbons, rather than solely on the surface, cross-sections of the nanoribbons were captured under SEM, shown in Fig. 3d,f. In these images, the presence of pores is evident throughout the entire thickness of the nanoribbons. 
 
 Figure 3: Low to high magnification SEM showing the increasing degree of porosity of PM CST nanoribbons as temperature increases, including sample heat-treated at 700 °C (a,b), 900 °C (c,d), and 1100 °C (e,f) (Scale bars for (a–f), respectively: 1 μm, 200 nm, 500 nm, 100 nm, 1 μm, and 100 nm). Full size image 
 
 Detailed transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis was also conducted on the 1100CSTs, since they were both the highest performing anode material, and displayed the highest apparent porosity from SEM. The microstructure seen in the lower-magnification images (Fig. 4a,b) is consistent with what is seen in SEM, which is a thin, highly mesoporous nanoribbon architecture. The range of pore size is confirmed from Fig. 4b,d,f identifying macropores and mesopores. Remarkably, TEM analysis also confirms the presence of worm or channel-shaped micropores, as observed in Fig. 4f. The low thickness of the ribbon is observed from the transparency of the structure in Fig. 4a, wherein the lacey carbon from the TEM grid is visible from beneath the sample. The general shape of the meso- and macropores of the nanoribbons is circular, information which supports the idea that salt pocket formation, and subsequent melting induces this type of void space generation. On the other hand, it is hypothesized that the worm-like micropores captured in Fig. 4f are generated through an activation-like process. N 2 adsorption/desorption isotherms show a long, flat plateau for adsorption and desorption, and a significant hysteresis (a characteristic of mesoporous and/or microporous carbons). The BET surface area was measured at 19.6 m2/g, which is a discrepancy in relation to the isotherm and TEM data; this points the prevalence of “blind,” or inaccessible pores formed in the 1100CSTs, which then become accessed after deep cycling. Moreover, our leading hypothesis is that oxygenated organics (polysaccharides, oligosaccharides, amino acids, DNA), combined with the unusually high K concentration, may lead to carbonate formation, and subsequent CO 2 generation; this is that basis of chemical activation, or a similar mechanism. 
 
 Figure 4: TEM of pristine PM 1100CST hierarchically porous nanoribbons, showing macroporosity (a,b), mesoporosity (c,d) and worm-like microporosity (e,f). Full size image 
 
 The phenomenon of small, biological salt pockets causing void spaces of various sizes, from the macroporous to microporous domains, leads us to propose that high PT-pyrolyzed PM CSTs are inherently a self-activating material, by a complex set of mechanisms. It is highly advantageous to have a material that can be naturally primed for optimal performance by simply applying heat-treatment. At PT of 1100 °C, macropores form, facilitating electrolyte infiltration and hence electrolyte interaction with high surface-area hard carbon (shown to be higher capacity than graphite, gravimetrically)7. Mesoporous carbons have been shown to perform with excellent stability over long-cycling in literature8, however, harsh chemical methods are required to achieve such performance. Hierarchically porous carbons, also achieved by many activation methods, tend to improve ion diffusion rates, and expose additional active material for reversible capacity enhancement9,10. 
 
 Spectral data was obtained from the PM CSTs after PTs of 700–1100 °C to analyze elemental composition by point-ID energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and phase information using x-ray diffractometry (XRD) of the free-standing anodes. From Fig. 5a, XRD patterns show the transition from large KCl peaks for the 700CSTs (blue), to the 1100CSTs (black) with no visible peaks of crystalline inorganics. The prevailing model for KOH-activation is shown in Eqn. (1) and (2). At temperatures above 400 °C Eqn. (1) occurs, and above 700 °C Eqn. (2) occurs (gasification of CO 2 occurs throughout this process)10. Further, K 2 O from Eqn. (2) continues to be reduced by carbon to metallic K at above 700 °C. A physical means of activation then occurs, when metallic K diffuses into carbon, expanding the lattice10. Considering the classical chemical and physical models for KOH-activation, it is likely that the biological salts present in the PM provide suitable precursors for similar activation mechanisms. With salt deposits of various sizes composed of KCl, and likely a host of carbonates and phosphates, the PM is an ideal self-activating carbon precursor for PTs above 900 °C. 
 
 Figure 5: Spectral data of the pristine, free-standing PM CSTs at various PTs, including XRD (a) and point-ID EDS (b). Full size image ||||| Porous structure of portabella mushrooms is key to making efficient batteries that could power cell phones and electric vehicles 
 
 RIVERSIDE, Calif. -- Can portabella mushrooms stop cell phone batteries from degrading over time? 
 
 Researchers at the University of California, Riverside Bourns College of Engineering think so. 
 
 They have created a new type of lithium-ion battery anode using portabella mushrooms, which are inexpensive, environmentally friendly and easy to produce. The current industry standard for rechargeable lithium-ion battery anodes is synthetic graphite, which comes with a high cost of manufacturing because it requires tedious purification and preparation processes that are also harmful to the environment. 
 
 With the anticipated increase in batteries needed for electric vehicles and electronics, a cheaper and sustainable source to replace graphite is needed. Using biomass, a biological material from living or recently living organisms, as a replacement for graphite, has drawn recent attention because of its high carbon content, low cost and environmental friendliness. 
 
 UC Riverside engineers were drawn to using mushrooms as a form of biomass because past research has established they are highly porous, meaning they have a lot of small spaces for liquid or air to pass through. That porosity is important for batteries because it creates more space for the storage and transfer of energy, a critical component to improving battery performance. 
 
 In addition, the high potassium salt concentration in mushrooms allows for increased electrolyte-active material over time by activating more pores, gradually increasing its capacity. 
 
 A conventional anode allows lithium to fully access most of the material during the first few cycles and capacity fades from electrode damage occurs from that point on. The mushroom carbon anode technology could, with optimization, replace graphite anodes. It also provides a binderless and current-collector free approach to anode fabrication. 
 
 "With battery materials like this, future cell phones may see an increase in run time after many uses, rather than a decrease, due to apparent activation of blind pores within the carbon architectures as the cell charges and discharges over time," said Brennan Campbell, a graduate student in the Materials Science and Engineering program at UC Riverside. 
 
 The research findings were outlined in a paper, "Bio-Derived, Binderless, Hierarchically Porous Carbon Anodes for Li-ion Batteries," published today (Sept. 29) in the journal Scientific Reports. It was authored by Cengiz Ozkan and Mihri Ozkan, both professors in the Bourns College of Engineering, and three of their current or former graduate students: Campbell, Robert Ionescu and Zachary Favors. 
 
 Nanocarbon architectures derived from biological materials such as mushrooms can be considered a green and sustainable alternative to graphite-based anodes, said Cengiz Ozkan, a professor of mechanical engineering and materials science and engineering. 
 
 The nano-ribbon-like architectures transform upon heat treatment into an interconnected porous network architecture which is important for battery electrodes because such architectures possess a very large surface area for the storage of energy, a critical component to improving battery performance. 
 
 One of the problems with conventional carbons, such as graphite, is that they are typically prepared with chemicals such as acids and activated by bases that are not environmentally friendly, said Mihri Ozkan, a professor of electrical and computer engineering. Therefore, the UC Riverside team is focused on naturally-derived carbons, such as the skin of the caps of portabella mushrooms, for making batteries. 
 
 It is expected that nearly 900,000 tons of natural raw graphite would be needed for anode fabrication for nearly six million electric vehicle forecast to be built by 2020. This requires that the graphite be treated with harsh chemicals, including hydrofluoric and sulfuric acids, a process that creates large quantities of hazardous waste. The European Union projects this process will be unsustainable in the future. 
 
 The Ozkan's research is supported by the University of California, Riverside. 
 
 This paper involving mushrooms is published just over a year after the Ozkan's labs developed a lithium-ion battery anode based on nanosilicon via beach sand as the natural raw material. Ozkan's team is currently working on the development of pouch prototype batteries based on nanosilicon anodes. 
 
 The UCR Office of Technology Commercialization has filed patents for the inventions above. 
 
 ###
– It isn't happening just yet, but a new scientific paper shows that it's possible, and perhaps even advantageous, to make batteries out of organic biological materials that have the added benefit of being cheap, environmentally friendly, and easy to produce, reports CNET. Engineers at the University of California, Riverside, report in the journal Scientific Reports that they've developed a new kind of lithium-ion battery anode that uses portobello mushrooms, which turn out to be so efficient (thanks largely to their porousness) that they could even replace the industry standard of synthetic graphite. The development could affect multiple industries, reports Discovery, which notes that biological materials might enable us to bring down costs and expend less energy in manufacturing, while synthetic graphite demands specific preparation and purification processes that are not only more costly but less environmentally friendly. The mushroom carbon anode tech could ultimately replace graphite anodes, the team reports in a press release: "With battery materials like this, future cell phones may see an increase in run time after many uses, rather than a decrease, due to apparent activation of blind pores within the carbon architectures as the cell charges and discharges over time," says one researcher. (Check out why some mushrooms glow in the dark.)