74. Electrical Applications of Biofibers

Chitosan fibers prepared through the wet-spinning approach were cross-linked with glutaraldehyde and later modified using polyalanine and multiwalled carbon nanotubes for potential use as electrode material for electrical double-layer capacitors [14Dor]. SEM images in Fig. 74.1 show the chitosan fibers modified using polyalanine and with MWCNT. The addition of polyalanine and CNTs onto chitosan fibers resulted in a porous structure shown in Fig. 74.1b. The conductivity of the chitosan/polyalanine/MWCNT fibers was 5.34 × 10⁻² S cm⁻¹ compared to 7.2 × 10⁻² S cm⁻¹ for the chitosan/polyalanine fibers. The nanocomposite fibers had a specific capacitance of 14.5 F cm⁻² at a current density of 10 mA cm⁻² suggesting that the fibers would be suitable as electrode materials.