Highly efficient electrothermal cotton fabric with flexibility, rapid mechanical response, and excellent washing fastness

Wearable, flexible e-textiles are critical to the future development of society and human activities. In this study, graphene oxide (GO) -modified cotton fabric was selected as the foundational material for creating efficient e-textiles with stable performance. The integration of Ag nanoparticles and BTCA was utilized to enhance both electrothermal conversion and washing fastness. With the assistance of BTCA, in-situ reduced GO (rGO) and Ag nanoparticles were deposited onto the cotton fabric surface, establishing a conductive pathway. The resulting Ag/BTCA/rGO/Cotton fabric exhibits outstanding performance, showcasing a thermal conductivity that is 659.2% higher than that of the pristine cotton fabric. Moreover, the fabric maintains a relatively stable sheet resistance across various motion states (such as finger bending, walking, elbow joint bending, and arm bending) and throughout a switching test lasting up to 400 s. Notably, the sheet resistance of this e-textile undergoes only a slight increase (from 0.985 Ω/Sq to 7.656 Ω/Sq) after 5 washing cycles, maintaining its shape and performance consistently. This flexible and stable conductive material, with excellent thermoelectric conversion performance, holds significant promise for applications in next-generation conductive electronic products.