Biomineralization of biofilms for electrochemical energy storage

PhD project, Laura Galezowski (advisors: J. Miot, N. Menguy; ED 397 grant)

In the context of an increasing energy demand, alternative routes (in terms of environmental impact) of energy production and storage are needed. In recent studies we evidenced the benefits of using microbial metabolism / surface chemistry for the precipitation of highly textured (at the bacterial scale) materials, subsequently used as electrode materials in Li batteries (Miot et al. 2014, Mirvaux et al. 2016). The goal of this PhD thesis is to push this concept a step forward , with the aim of obtaining a textured biomaterial at the scale of the whole electrode (i.e. cm-scale), using the inherently porous structure of bacterial biofilms. We will especially study the biomineralization of manganese oxides in biofilms of Mn-oxidizing bacteria. Finally, we will explore routes to synthesize ternary materials, e.g. manganese oxides including an alkaline (Li, Na) in their structure, for direct use in complete Li-ion batteries.

Collaborators:

Nadir Recham, Dominique Larcher, LRCS

SEM-EDX map of a graphite electrode colonized by a biofilm forming extracellular Mn-oxides. © Laura Galezowski