Transient Electronics carries potential to answer the biggest problems related to the disposal of waste or out of use electronic kits. The R&D segment has worked really hard to get a viable solution to this burning issue. A progressive project is going on to develop dissolving PCBs and finally, the Iowa State University researchers have developed a dissolving battery. The dimensions of this battery goes as 5mm x 6mm x 1mm, it is a lithium-ion battery that can deliver 2.5V power. It can recharge any laptop within 15 minutes. 

 

As per the Journal of Polymer Science, “Unlike conventional electronics that are designed to last for extensive periods of time, a key and unique attribute of transient electronics is to operate over a typically short and well-defined period, and undergo fast and, ideally, complete self-deconstruction and vanish when transiency is triggered.” 

 

But what about those transient devices whose empowerment depends on a regular battery? As per an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Iowa State University, Reza Montazami, “Any device without a transient power source isn’t really transient. This is a battery with all the working components. It’s much more complex than our previous work with transient electronics.” She has been working on this technology from last several years. 

 

The battery comes with an anode, cathode, as well as an electrolyte separator that comes within two layers of dissolvable polyvinyl alcohol-based polymer. The casing of the battery swells under water and electrodes break into pieces leading to its dissolution in water completely except for some small nanoparticles. The Iowa paper further says, “Unlike conventional electronics that are designed to last for extensive periods of time, a key and unique attribute of transient electronics is to operate over a typically short and well-defined period, and undergo fast and, ideally, complete self-deconstruction and vanish when transiency is triggered”.