Electro-active paper for biomimetic actuator activated in low humidity condition

Abstract

Electro-Active Paper(EAPap) actuator materials based on cellulose has been discovered as a smart material that has merits in terms of low voltage operation, lightweight, dryness, low power consumption, bio-degradability, abundance and low price. Since EAPap material requires low power consumption, a remotely driven actuator has been proposed by using microwave power transmission. This concept is attractive for many biomimetic systems such as crawling micro-insect robots, flying objects like dragon fly, and smart wall papers. However, the actuation performance of EAPap is sensitive to humidity. Thus, in this paper, a new EAPap that is less sensitive to humidity is studied. The fabrication of EAPap is explained and the actuations are shown with actuating voltage, frequency, humidity level and time. The fabrication process includes dissolving cellulose fibers, eliminating solvent and Li ions with DI (deionized) water and IPA (Isopropyl alcohol) mixture, washing with water, drying and gold coating. Morphology of the fabricated EAPap is analyzed by taking scanning electron microscope images and X-ray diffractogram. The actuator performance is tested in terms of bending displacement with frequency and humidity level.