Carbon nanotubes used to make batteries from fabrics

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Ordinary cotton and polyester fabrics have been turned into batteries that retain their flexibility.



The demonstration is a boost to the nascent field of "wearable electronics" in which devices are integrated into clothing and textiles.

The approach is based on dipping fabrics in an "ink" of tiny tubes of carbon, and was first demonstrated last year on plain copier paper.

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"Wearable electronics represent a developing new class of materials... which allow for many applications and designs previously impossible with traditional electronics technologies," the authors wrote.

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The next step is to integrate the approach with materials that store more energy, in order to create more useful batteries. By combining the approach with other electronic materials in the ink, the team believes even wearable solar cells are possible.