Fabricating electronic textile using nano MnO2/polyaniline composites for capacitor device

Abstract

In this study, cotton fabric was employed to achieve electronic textile by incorporating nano MnO2 and polyaniline as conductive materials. The treatment was accomplished via two consecutive steps, where different concentrations of MnO2 were initially applied by the ultrasound-assisted template method onto the cotton samples to synthesize nanoMnO2. The nano form of the metal oxides and polyaniline inclusion were demonstrated through a transmittance electron microscope. Thereafter, chemical oxidative polymerization of aniline over the nano metal oxide–loaded fabrics was performed. Structure, phase, and purity of as-treated fabrics were determined using X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The thermal properties of the fabricated conductive samples were also tested. The electrical conductivity of the obtained (nano MnO2/polyaniline) modified cotton fabrics showed great enhancement by exposing the modified samples to gamma irradiation, as a posttreatment, to reach an optimum condition at 40 kGy, using 0.2 M MnO2. The recorded increment for electric conductivity was from 5.4 × 10−3 to 1.43 × 10−1 Ω−1. m−1 for both unirradiated and 40 kGy irradiated samples, respectively. Pseudo-capacitance of cotton/MnO2/polyaniline fabric electrode was tested using a three-electrode system. The assumption of (nano MnO2/polyaniline) cotton fabric conductivity was verified through a designed pseudo-capacitor as an important yet simple form of an energy storage device.