| abstract |
The present invention relates to gold wires and electrodes fashioned from natural fibres. In particular, fine natural fibres such as coir fibre, jute fibre, sisal fibre, banana fibre, and human hair, which are mechanically strong and flexible, were used as templates over which an 80-200 nm layer of gold was coated by sputter coating. The composite materials were shown to have low electrical resistivity and functioned normally as electrodes in conventional electrochemical applications such as cyclic voltammetry and anodic stripping voltammetry. Although the present invention focused on the use of single fibres and gold coating exclusively, bundles of naturally aligned fibres and coatings of metals other than gold are logical extensions of the invention. |