Lightweight carbon sheets can be attached securely to nylon, cotton and polyester to create textiles that conduct electricity but don't fall apart in the wash.

Byung Hoon Kim at Incheon National University in South Korea and his colleagues smeared fibres with bovine serum albumin, a protein used in many biology labs. Albumin acted as a molecular glue; by changing the charge on the fibres, it attracted sheets of graphene oxide (single-atom-thick layers of carbon atoms, topped with oxygen). The modified threads remained flexible (pictured) and could carry a current after being bent, washed and subjected to temperatures between −53 °C and 52 °C.

Credit: YONG JU YUN

Adv. Mater. http://doi.org/njx (2013)