Osmotic powering of ingestible and wearable devices using cationic and anionic nanofluidic membranes

About This Grant

This project aims to develop a novel, lightweight, and environmentally friendly battery that generates power using natural salinity gradients found in everyday fluids such as water, sweat, saliva, and urine. Unlike traditional batteries, which often rely on scarce and geopolitically sensitive materials like lithium, this new battery uses readily available and sustainable materials and operates without liquid electrolytes. Its dry, shelf-stable design makes it ideal for powering small, portable devices including wearable sensors, medical diagnostics, and ingestible electronics. The proposed osmotic battery harnesses nanoscale materials to create membranes that selectively transport positive and negative ions, enabling efficient on-demand energy generation. This innovation addresses the growing need for compact, safe, and eco-friendly power sources and supports NSF’s mission by promoting the progress of science and engineering, advancing environmental sustainability, and fostering health-related technologies. The project will also engage undergraduate students in cutting-edge research and integrate findings into engineering education, contributing to workforce development and STEM outreach. This project proposes the design and fabrication of an osmotic battery based on ion-selective membranes derived from two-dimensional nanomaterials, one for cation transport and another for anion transport—combined with ion-infused aerogel layers. These components form a dry, gelatin-based architecture that eliminates the need for bulky liquid electrolytes. The device generates power through salinity gradients established across alternating hydrogel compartments containing potassium chloride. This configuration is expected to deliver power outputs in the hundreds of microwatts while maintaining a total device weight below 10 grams, making it ideal for low-power and space-constrained applications. The proposed approach employs green chemistry techniques and offers advantages in scalability, safety, and storage. The project builds on the strong expertise of the research team in nanomaterials, bioelectronics, and low-power systems and is expected to produce fundamental insights into ion transport mechanisms in nanostructured membranes, as well as practical innovations in miniaturized energy harvesting technologies. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.