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Vitamin B12 is essential for the body's proper functioning and is found in foods of animal origin. It is produced by certain bacteria that, in addition to being found in nature, are cultivated at industrial facilities for commercial use, primarily by the food and pharmaceutical industries. It is beneficial when certain nutritional deficiencies are present, and in recent times it has become popular, along with other B vitamins, as a remedy for hangovers, as it can help reduce fatigue.

An unusual application may now be added to its established uses in medicine, food and veterinary science: a team from the University of Córdoba has, for the first time, employed it as a catalyst in the development of a rechargeable battery.

The prototype was designed by researchers with the Physical Chemistry research group (FQM-204) at the Chemical Institute for Energy and the Environment (IQUEMA) of the University of Córdoba. It consists of a zinc-air battery that incorporates vitamin B12, also known as cobalamin, which is anchored to single-walled carbon nanotubes. This configuration facilitates the electrochemical reaction because the vitamin contains cobalt (III) at its core.

This is the third time that this group has used a biomolecule as a catalyst, following its previous work on batteries made with hemoglobin and catalase , which contain iron (II) and iron (III), respectively. The major breakthrough is that, in the case of B12, the team has succeeded in making the battery they developed rechargeable, achieving up to 250 charge and discharge cycles.

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