Scientists at the University of South Carolina have developed T-shirts that could charge mobile phones, according to a news report Tuesday.

Experts predict that new technologies, including roll-up smartphones and laptops, will be on the market soon, BBC News reported.
Xiaodong Li, a professor of mechanical engineering at the at the university, teamed up with post-doctorate researcher Lihong Bao to find a solution.

The pair wrote up their findings for the Advanced Materials journal.

They used a T-shirt bought from a local discount store, which was soaked in a solution of fluoride, dried and then baked in an oxygen-free environment at high temperature, BBC said.

The fibres in the fabric converted from cellulose to activated carbon during the process, but the material remained flexible.

By using small parts of the fabric as an electrode, the researchers showed that the material could be made to act as a capacitor.

Capacitors store an electrical charge and are components of nearly every electronic device on the market, the British broadcaster said.