One of the darkest man-made materials is vertically aligned nanotube array (VANTA or VACNT) structures that reflect as low as 0.005% of visible light.
Producing these materials is a costly, highly technical process that uses hazardous substances, and the finished products are both fragile and toxic.
These ultrablack materials are unsuitable as wearable or everyday textiles that require biocompatibility, breathability, and stretchability.
Here, we demonstrate a simple and industrially viable two-step method to fabricate the darkest ultrablack fabric ever reported, which also retains the original integrity of the textile material.