Performance Of Electro-Active Paper Actuator Research Articles

Effect of polyethylene oxide–polyethylene glycol content and humidity on performance of electro‐active paper actuators based on cellulose/polyethylene oxide–polyethylene glycol microcomposite

AbstractThe effect of humidity and polyethylene oxide (PEO)–polyethylene glycol (PEG) content on the actuator performance of cellulose/PEO–PEG microcomposites was studied. Upon blending 5% PEO–PEG, the maximum bending displacement of the actuator increased nearly twice compared to that of cellulose EAPap actuator. However, further increase of PEO–PEG content resulted in decreased actuator performance. This might be due to the increased intermolecular interaction by hydrogen bonding that reduces the mobility of the molecules. The actuator performance test showed that the increase in humidity level rather reduced the maximum displacement of the actuators. X‐ray diffractogram and Fourier transform infrared spectrum analysis suggested a structural change of the microcomposites as well as disruption of cellulose/PEO–PEG association attributed to the actuator performance degradation at high humidity level. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2010. © 2010 Society of Plastics Engineers

Characteristics and performance of electroactive paper actuator made with cellulose/polyurethane semi‐interpenetrating polymer networks

AbstractThis article introduces a cellulose/polyurethane (PU) semi‐IPN‐based electroactive paper (EAPap) actuator. The fabrication process, bending actuation test, and its characteristics are explained. For the fabrication of cellulose/PU semi‐IPN EAPap actuator, cotton cellulose was dissolved into N,N‐dimethylacetamide (DMAc) and lithium chloride (LiCl) solvent system. PU prepolymer prepared by poly[di(ethylene glycol) adipate] and hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI) was mixed with DMAc cellulose solution by stirring. The mixed solution was spin‐coated on a wafer and cured to form cellulose/PU semi‐IPN films using 1,1,1‐tris(hudroxymethyl)propane as the crosslinker. The characteristics of the cellulose/PU semi‐IPN film were investigated by FTIR, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X‐ray diffraction pattern (XRD), and tensile test. The bending actuation performance of the actuator was evaluated in terms of free bending displacement with respect to the actuation frequencies, voltages, and humidity levels. It shows a good bending actuation at room humidity condition. The actuation principle of the actuator is also discussed. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008

Effect of aligned cellulose film to the performance of electro-active paper actuator

This study focused on investigating the effect of aligned cellulose fibers to the performance of EAPap actuator. Among the several factors affecting the performance of EAPap, influence of material orientation in the chemical and physical processing would be crucial for cellulose film. A well-known electrospinning method was employed to improve material orientation of EAPap. LiCl/DMAc cellulose solution, which cotton pulp was dissolved in lithium chloride (LiCl) and N, N-dimethylacetamide (DMAc) solvent, was used for the fabrication of electrospinning cellulose film. The electrospun cellulose film was spincoated to fill internal pores and stretched up to 10% strain by wet drawn process. SEM images were provided to show aligned cellulose film obtained by the proposed electrospinning and wet drawn stretching method. XRD patterns showed that samples fabricated by electrospinning and stretching method enhanced both crystal structure and crystallinity of cellulose film, which are associated with the improvement of piezoelectricity of EAPap. Induced in-plane strain of electrospun EAPap was proportional to the applied voltage and larger than that of spincast EAPap. An attempt to align cellulose fibers by electrospinning is a useful method for improving the performance of EAPap actuator.

Synthesis, characterization and actuation behavior of polyaniline‐coated electroactive paper actuators

AbstractThis investigation deals with the synthesis, characterization and actuation behavior of conductive polyaniline‐coated electroactive paper actuators. The actuator is made by electrochemical deposition of conductive polyaniline on a cellulose paper. The aim of the investigation was to improve the bending displacement of electroactive paper actuators. The displacement outputs of the actuators show that a trilayer is better than a bilayer configuration. The nature of the dopant ion used in the electro‐generation affects the performance. A change in humidity plays a vital role in actuation performance of the actuators. Comparing the performance of electroactive paper actuators with and without a conductive polyaniline coating, the coating improves the displacement output threefold. Finally, the actuation principle mechanism is addressed. Copyright © 2007 Society of Chemical Industry

Robust Electro-Active Paper Actuator in Room Humidity

Electro-Active Paper (EAPap) is attractive for a biomimetic actuator material due to its merits in terms of lightweight, dry condition, large displacement output, low actuation voltage and biodegradability. However, the performance of EAPap actuator is so sensitive to humidity that high humidity is required. We report a robust EAPap actuator that can be activated in room humidity condition. The EAPap is made by dissolving cellulose fibers into a solution using DMAc solvents, and made into a sheet by using casting. Thin electrodes are deposited on the cellulose paper to comprise an EAPap actuator. The fabrication process and the performance evaluation of EAPap are presented in terms of free displacement with respect to frequency and actuation voltage.

Performance of Electro-active paper actuators with thickness variation

This paper investigates the performance of electro-active paper (EAPap) actuators with thickness variation. EAPap made with cellulose paper, is attractive for biomimetic actuators due to its characteristics in terms of lightweight, biodegradable, dry condition, large displacement output, low actuation voltage and low power consumption. EAPap actuators exhibit a bending deformation in the presence of electric field. However, the performance is sensitive to the thickness of the EAPap material because the thickness is associated with the bending stiffness that strongly affects the bending deformation and the force output of the actuator. Thus, the performance of EAPap actuators that have three different samples of 20, 30, and 40 μm thicknesses is tested in terms of tip displacement, blocked force, electrical power consumption, and the efficiency. The sample preparation and the test methods are addressed. The resonance frequency and the bending stiffness are associated with the thickness of the EAPap actuator, and there is an optimum thickness for the best performance of the EAPap actuators. The mechanical output power and the efficiency at an optimal thickness are drastically improved comparing with the previous thickness case.

Cellulose based electro-active papers: performance and environmental effects

Electro-active paper (EAPap) is attractive as an electro-active polymer (EAP) actuatormaterial due to its low weight, dry condition, large displacement output, lowactuation voltage and low power consumption and biodegradability. EAPap is madefrom cellulose. Cellulose fibre is dissolved into a solution and made into a sheet,then thin electrodes are deposited on the cellulose paper to make an EAPapactuator. The performance of EAPap actuators was evaluated in terms of tipdisplacement, blocking force and electrical power consumption. The maximum tipdisplacement of 4.3 mm was obtained from a 40 mm long EAPap actuator when0.25 kV mm−1 was applied. This actuation voltage is quite low compared with other electronic EAPmaterials. The effect of the environment in terms of humidity and temperature wasalso investigated. When the relative humidity was increased up to 95%, the tipdisplacement increased. When the temperature was increased the displacementslowly increased and then gradually decreased after the temperature reached30 °C. These measurements were performed under a variety of environmental and input factorsincluding frequency, actuation voltage, temperature and humidity.