Advancing conductive cellulosic textiles: Structural, optical and thermoelectric enhancements via innovative metallic...

Traditionally known for their insulating properties, cellulosic textiles have faced limitations in the approval of conducting materials. Specifically, this study investigate the impact of annealing time duration on the structural, morphological, and thermoelectric properties of zinc doped copper oxide (Zn doped CuO) nanostructures deposited onto cellulosic fabric using the Thermal Evaporation Method. Various characterization techniques including x- ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and thermoelectric attributes of samples were analyzed. Results indicated a decrease in particle size and the emergence of zinc oxide (ZnO) phases with increasing annealing time. The particle size of copper oxide (CuO) is 37.54 nm as well as zinc doped copper oxide (Zn doped CuO) shows a particle size of 30.37 nm. The seebeck coefficient initially rises, peaks at 3 h and then decreases with further annealing. The highest power factor is recorded at 3 h, which is 1.44 × 10^-16 W/mK² suggesting optimal thermoelectric performance. These findings contribute to the understanding of the synthesis and potential applications of zinc doped copper oxide (Zn doped CuO) nanostructures for thermoelectric devices. For computational results by doping the zinc (Zn) atom into copper oxide (CuO) maximum value of absorption coefficient was obtained at 21 eV which is 2.8 ×10⁵ for 3 % zinc doped copper oxide (Zn doped CuO).