Assistant Professor Hideki Hashimoto of the Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology was awarded a special prize at the Third Nature Industry Awards for his poster presentation on the superior electrode properties of bacteria-derived amorphous iron-based oxide material.

Assistant Professor Hashimoto and others discovered that micro tubular ferric oxide created by bacteria in natural groundwater showed superior properties as a material for the negative electrode of lithium-ion batteries. They also clarified that structural silicon and phosphorous assisted the fast charge/discharge property of the material.

The bacteria-derived iron-based oxide is a cost-effective material and an unexplored frontier in solid-state chemistry and materials science. In the future, it is expected that optimization of electrode preparation method such as selection of component materials (conductive material and binding material) and adjustment of the compounding ratio will further improve the material’s charge/discharge performance.

The exhibition/presentation event has been held by the Osaka Science and Technology Center and Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun Ltd. (MONODZUKURI.Nippon.Conference) since fiscal 2012 in order to promote studies of young researchers based on the theme of “Wisdom of Nature”. The event is held to introduce their studies to the industry though poster and oral presentations, and to uncover opportunities for collaboration with companies.


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