Passive Electrical Components Based on Cotton Fabric Decorated with Iron Oxides Microfibers: The Influence of Static and Pulsed Magnetic Fields on the Equivalent Electrical Properties

In this work, environmentally friendly and low-cost passive electrical components (PECs) are manufactured based on composites consisting of cotton fabrics soaked with solutions of silicone oil and different amounts of iron oxides microfibers ([Formula: see text] Fe). The [Formula: see text] Fe consists of a mixture of three phases: hematite ([Formula: see text]-Fe [Formula: see text] O [Formula: see text]), maghemite ([Formula: see text]-Fe [Formula: see text] O [Formula: see text]), and magnetite (Fe [Formula: see text] O [Formula: see text]). The equivalent electrical capacitance ([Formula: see text]) and resistance ([Formula: see text]) of PECs are measured as a function of magnetic flux density B in a static and pulsed magnetic field superimposed on an alternating electric field of frequency 1 kHz. The relative variation in the hysteresis curves for both [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] are obtained by measuring them in the ascending and then the descending mode of B. We show that all these three quantities are sensibly influenced by the volume fractions of [Formula: see text] Fe and by the values of B. The main influence on this behavior is attributed to the semiconductor properties of the [Formula: see text]-Fe [Formula: see text] O [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]-Fe [Formula: see text] O [Formula: see text] components of the oxide microfibers. In addition, it is found that at [Formula: see text] 175 mT, the maximum relative variance of the hysteresis curve is about 3.35% for [Formula: see text] and 3.18 % for [Formula: see text]. When a pulsed magnetic field is used, it is shown that [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] closely follow the variation in the magnetic field. Thus, the resulting electrical properties of PECs, together with the fast response to the application of pulsed magnetic fields, make them useful in the fabrication of various devices, such as electric, magnetic, and deformation fields, or mechanical stress sensors with applications in protection against electromagnetic smog, healthcare monitoring, or for human–machine interfacing.