ABP Interview | Meet TN Scientist Gurunathan Thangavel From Singapore Varsity Team That Made Sweat-Powered Battery

The battery developed by Gurunathan Thangavel and other two researchers from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore can be used as smart or fitness watches.

The NTU Researchers' team

Chennai: Three researchers from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore have made a battery that can use sweat to generate power. One of them is scientist Gurunathan Thangavel, who is from Karur district of Tamil Nadu. 

According to reports, the battery developed by the researchers can be used as smart or fitness watches. Once a user starts to sweat and it comes in contact with the battery, the chloride ions and acidity of sweat will unite the silver flakes, which will further increase its efficiency to conduct electricity and help with the travelling of current. 

Their research was published in Science Advanced magazine.

Born in Karur, Thangavel's father is an organic farmer. He says he wanted to become a scientist from childhood. Having studied in a government school till Class 10, Thangavel went to Bishop Heber school in higher secondary education and studied there till Class 12. He then moved to Bishop Heber College for his graduation and post graduation, which he did in chemistry.

Interested in research, Thangavel went to Anna University in Chennai and completed his BE in Chemical Engineering, before getting a job in South Korea as a PG researcher. He has published several international papers. 

The 36-year-old is now a PG research fellow at NTU in Singapore. Excerpts from his interview to ABP Nadu:

Q: Who among the three-member team came up with the original idea to create this battery? What was your role in the research? 

All three of us equally participated in the research. I found the acid and core, and it is important to note that the battery does not contain any environmentally hazardous products. 

Q: How did your team get the idea to find a battery powered by perspiration?

During workouts and in summers, everyone produces more sweat than usual. While we sweat, our body will usually exert electrolytes, potassium, phosphorus and sodium. So, we thought about why we shouldn't use this to charge a battery, and we put this thought into our research. 

Q: Could you explain how the battery works? 

Our battery uses silver oxide as a positive electrode, zinc as a negative electrode and extendable silver as a collector. The entire battery is printed on a sweat-absorbent cloth. When sweat touches the battery, it performs two functions: First the positive and negative electrodes are subjected to the reaction of the battery. In particular, the negative electrode of zinc loses electrons and then by load the silver oxide is transferred to the positive electrode to complete the battery reaction.

Second, the sweat will react with the silver current collector to reduce the resistance of the current collector. Thus the electrons generated by the battery ensure the stable operation of the battery when it is pulled. In our design, we use a fabric that absorbs sweat as a base. This fabric ensures that the sweat produced is stored in the battery. The problem does not arise if the speed of sweating changes or the sweat stops.

Q: Is the research for the battery complete? When will the battery come to public use?

The test to measure battery performance and status is nearing completion. Through our ongoing research and development, we will introduce a new technology in wearable batteries. It will take another year to introduce the battery and there are talks with several top firms.

Q: In your personal opinion, why do you think new research-based discoveries have become a rarity in the Indian research landscape?

How can we improve the research landscape of the country if the officials and politicians in the country even after retirement work to increase their wealth for their next 10 generations? There is infrastructure for research but the infrastructure never reaches the hands of the talented scientists. This structure should change soon so people like me from underprivileged backgrounds receive the benefit.