Development of conductive cotton textiles for wearable garments and analysis of their physical characteristics and flexible supercapacitors

This study investigated multi-function responsive cotton fabrics with surface modification on the nanoscale. Coated cotton fabrics made of graphene oxide (GO), single-wall carbon nanotube (CNT), polyaniline (PANI), and a composite of them have been prepared. Several techniques characterized the control cotton and the coated cotton samples. The treated cotton’s conductivity, thermal, and electrochemical properties were studied to test the possibility of using them as electrodes in supercapacitor devices. The electrical conductivity of composite (PANI@GO@CNT) coated cotton is 292 times higher than untreated cotton. The washing cycles and the electrical conductivity measurements showed high durability for all the coated materials. The efficiency of heat generation of the studied fabrics increases in the order PANI@GO@CNT-Cot &gt; PANI@GO-Cot &gt; PANI-Cot &gt; CNT-Cot &gt; GO-Cot &gt; Cot. The electrochemical characterization showed that the coated cotton (PANI@GO@CNT-Cot) exhibits the highest specific capacitance of all the coated cotton electrodes with a value of 400 Fg⁻¹ at 10 mVs⁻¹, which renders PANI@GO@CNT-Cot fabric as promising electrode material for supercapacitors. The capacitance value of the symmetric capacitor using two electrodes of PANI@GO@CNT-Cot and PVA-H₃PO₄ gel as an electrolyte is 205 Fg⁻¹ at a current density of 1 Ag⁻¹ with 85% retention after 1000 cycles. The capacitor cell has an energy and power density of 28.5 kWh/Kg and 479.5 W/Kg. The results indicate the possibility of using coated cotton (PANI@GO@CNT-Cot) prepared <i>via</i> low-cost processing as smart textiles for different applications.