Abstract
This paper reports the effect of process orientation on the mechanical behavior and piezoelectricity of electroactive paper (EAPap) made from natural cotton pulp. EAPap is fabricated by a casting and wet drawing of cellulose film after dissolving cotton with LiCl and DMAc solvent. During the fabrication, permanent wrinkles, a possible factor for performance deterioration, were found in the films. Finite element method was introduced to identify the formation mechanism behind the wrinkles. The simulation results show that the wrinkles were caused by buckling and are inevitable under any conditions. The tensile and piezoelectric tests show that the orientation dependency of the stretched EAPap gives the anisotropic characteristics on both mechanical and piezoelectric properties. In this research, the anisotropic elastic moduli and Poisson’s ratios are reported. The piezoelectric charge constant of EAPap in the linear elastic is calculated. The piezoelectric charge constants of EAPap are associated with the alignment angle in the order of 45° > 0° > 90° due to the strong shear effect. The higher stretching ratio gives the higher piezoelectricity due to the alignment of the molecular chains and the microstructure in EAPap. The highest piezoelectric charge constant is found to be 12 pC/N at a stretching ratio of 1.6 and aligning angle of 45°.
Highlights
Cellulose, one of the most abundant and environmentally friendly materials on the Earth, has been used in various areas for food, textile, and papermaking
Since the piezoelectricity of electroactive paper (EAPap) was greatly affected by the alignment and mechanical strain of the molecular chains in the film, we introduced a finite element method to find the mechanism behind the wrinkles and possibly prevent the formation of wrinkles during fabrication
Cellulose fibers from natural raw cotton pulp were dissolved by using LiCl and DMAc solvent and generated cellulose films
Summary
One of the most abundant and environmentally friendly materials on the Earth, has been used in various areas for food, textile, and papermaking. Many previous studies discovered that cellulose has piezoelectricity [1,2,3]. These studies prompted the prospect of developing cellulose-based industrial actuators, sensors, and speakers. Some studies reported electroactive response and sound pressure levels from smart cellulose film actuators and speakers [4,5,6]. This smart cellulose film is called electroactive paper (EAPap). Other materials, such as ceramics and polymers, show piezoelectric characteristics [7,8]. It is legitimate to say that cellulose may have potential as an eco-friendly electroactive material [9]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
