Study of the Structural, Morphological, and Electrical Properties of Pyrrole/Activated Carbon Derived from Rice Husk on Cotton Fabric

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 School of Physics and Material Studies, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40450 Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia

2 Institute for Biodiversity and Sustainable Development (IBSD), Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40450 Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia

3 Advanced Biomaterials and Carbon Development (ABCD) Research Group, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40450 Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia

4 Environmental and Atmospheric Sciences Research Group, Scientific Research Center, Al-Ayen University, Thi-Qar, Nasiriyah, 64001, Iraq

5 UNESCO RCQE Chair in Emerging Renewable & Sustainable Energy Technologies, Sohar University, PO Box 44, PCI 311, Sohar – Oman

6 Energy Storage Research Group, Faculty of Ocean Engineering Technology and Informatics, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, 21030 Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, Malaysia

7 Material Characterisation Lab, Centralised Lab Management Centre, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Gong Badak Campus, 21300 Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu, Malaysia.

Abstract

In this work, activated carbon (AC) and pyrrole were successfully deposited onto cotton fabric using simple dip and dry methods. First, the fabric was bleached. Next, a mixture of AC derived from rice husk, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as a binding agent, and sodium dodecylbenzene sulphonate (SDBS) as a surfactant was prepared. This mixture was applied to the fabric using a brush. After that, the AC treated fabric was submerged in a pyrrole solution of the desired molarity, followed by immersion in a ferric chloride (FeCl₃) solution for 2 h. Four samples were prepared, and structural, morphological, and electrical characterisation was performed using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), energy dispersive X ray spectroscopy (EDX), and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Electrical characterisation was conducted using a four point probe method at room temperature for 2 min on 1 × 1 cm² samples. Among all the samples, PPy/AC/cotton fabric (2) exhibited the highest conductivity of 5.5 S/cm. The study also demonstrated that increasing the molarity of pyrrole and FeCl₃ initially enhanced the conductivity. However, when the molarities were increased to 0.3 M pyrrole and 0.6 M FeCl₃, as well as 0.4 M pyrrole and 0.8 M FeCl₃, the conductivity decreased, and the fabric became stiffer and more rigid.

Keywords

Main Subjects

© 2026 The Author(s). Progress in Physics of Applied Materials published by Semnan University Press. This is an open access article under the CC-BY 4.0 license. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

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Progress in Physics of Applied Materials
Volume 6, Issue 4 - Serial Number 13
In Progress
December 2026
Pages 305-313

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History

  • Receive Date: 15 December 2025
  • Revise Date: 13 May 2026
  • Accept Date: 15 May 2026

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