High-performance electrothermal fabrics enabled by lignin-derived carbon nanotube yarns

The rapid advancement of wearable electronic technology has greatly improved the capabilities of electrothermal fabrics, aligning with energy efficiency and carbon reduction goals. However, the market's growth has been hampered by the scarcity of materials that effectively balance conductivity, comfort, and weavability. Here, an efficient electrothermal fabric is developed by weaving lignin-derived carbon nanotube (CNT) yarns prepared by floating catalytic chemical vapor deposition onto conventional fabrics. The results show that the CNT yarns with a linear density of 25 g km−1 exhibit exceptional electric heating properties, and the electrothermal fabrics developed using these CNT yarns not only provide warmth to the human body but also function as efficient water heaters. Remarkably, they can raise the water temperature to 50℃ within just 10 min under a 3 V voltage. This groundbreaking work expands the application potential of biomass-derived CNT yarns and offers valuable insights for the development of high-efficiency electrothermal fabrics.