Welcome to episode 3 of the Sustainable Nano podcast! In this episode, we talk about a recent research study that looked at how one type of battery nanomaterial affects bacteria called Shewanella oneidensis. We interview Mimi Hang and Ian Gunsolus, who were co-first authors of the study as graduate students in the Center for Sustainable Nanotechnology.
The study may sound familiar to regular blog readers – Mimi summarized it in this post and it got some media attention, which we wrote about here and here.
Wrapping up our podcast launch week we will have one more new episode coming tomorrow (nanotechnology superheroes!). After that we will switch to an every-other-week schedule. Be sure to subscribe on iTunes so you don’t miss an episode! Or if you’re not an iTunes person, you can always still listen here on the blog.
ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Related links:
- Center for Sustainable Nanotechnology
- Hang, M. Gunsolus, I., Wayland, H., Melby, E., Mensch, A., Hurley, K., Pedersen, J., Haynes, C., & Hamers, R. Impact of Nanoscale Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide (NMC) on the Bacterium Shewanella oneidensis MR-1. Chemistry of Materials. 2016, 28, 1092-1100. doi: 10.1021/acs.chemmater.5b04505
Interviewees: Dr. Ian Gunsolus, Mimi Hang
Producer/Narrator: Miriam Krause
Music sources: Music for this episode came from the Free Music Archive, specifically tracks by Kesta and Dexter Britain
Sustainable Nano 
Landfills are often lined with clay or other impervious materials that prevent leakage of landfill contents. However, in developing countries this may not be the case. Recycling of battery materials will greatly increase as pressure on natural resources increases which may downplay the issue with toxicity (which is only found at high concentrations in this organism). Is the endpoint of the life cycle of this material actually a problem or should we be worried about other aspects of the material life cycle?
Thanks for the question! Here’s Ian’s reply: