Producing electrochemical energy devices by recycling is a powerful approach to conciliate the reduction of fossil fuel energy consumption to the design of low cost, green and sustainable materials. Notably, bone and skin (dermis), which are made of type I collagen molecules, are the main bioproduct of meat processing and are usually treated as wastes (e.g., gelation production, meal for animals or glue for string), although they represent widespread and low-cost raw materials. Type I collagen possesses lyotropic properties and self-assembles in vitro into different liquid-crystal phases namely nematic (alignment), precholesteric (undulations) and cholesteric (plywood). Such long-range ordering and dynamic fluid in liquid-crystals may favor proton transport over large scales in collagen-based membranes. Therefore, the aim of this project is (i) to explore the self-assembly properties of collagen present in bone wastes to develop a new class of proton exchange membrane for fuel cells and (ii) to compare its performance to the synthetic gold standard ionomer Nafion (Figure 1). 

The project will be conducted in two steps. The first step comprises the preparation and characterization of various bone-like matrices including mineralized and non-mineralized anisotropic collagen gel. The second step comprises the investigation of the potential applications of these materials as proton conducting membranes by using impedance spectroscopy and quartz crystal microbalance. The mechanisms behind the conductivity properties will also be investigated, and in particular the influence of liquid crystalline organization of collagen. On that purpose, macroscopic and microscopic structural aspect of the membrane will be examined by a combination of techniques. 

We expect that this project will open perspectives to transform materials regarded as wastes in source of new advanced energy devices. In addition, the set of results and materials obtained will shed new light in the emerging field of bioelectronics where fundamental knowled