Smart cars, smart TVs, smart homes, what is next? The introduction of cotton transistors might very well be the breakthrough required to deliver smarter clothing to the masses. The efforts of a team of international researchers that are helmed by Cornell fiber scientist Juan Hinestroza managed to develop transistors from cotton fibers which maintain their flexibility in order to make them be woven into fabrics. Who knows? The future might see clothing that are smarter than your phone in your pocket at the moment.
In order to create cotton transistors, it involves coating natural cotton fibers with gold nanoparticles and semiconductive or conductive polymers, so that they are able to achieve electronic properties and behaviors. Considering the additional layers are already so thin, the fibers will still remain flexible so that they can be used as transistors.
I do wonder whether organic cotton will see any action down the road to create such transistors – after all, it makes technology greener to keep up with the times.
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