nanosize:

Simple Process Turns T-Shirt into a Supercapacitor

The technique, which was described in the Wiley journalAdvanced Materials, started by soaking a regular cotton t-shirt a in a solution of fluoride. After dying it, the researchers examined the material with infrared spectroscopy and discovered that the cellulose of the cotton t-shirt had been converted into activated carbon. Not only had they made it into activated carbon, but also the t-shirt still maintained its flexibility and could be rolled and folded without breaking.

While the activated carbon now could serve as a capacitor and store electrical charge, Li and post-doctoral associate Lihong Bao decided to take it a step further. They took the individual fibers from the treated t-shirt and coated them with “nanoflowers” of manganese oxide. The result was a “stable, high-performing supercapacitor,” said Li in the USC press release. “By stacking these supercapacitors up, we should be able to charge portable electronic devices such as cell phones.”