Cellulose Based Electro-Active Papers for Biomimetic Actuators

초록

Electro-Active Paper (EAPap) is attractive as an EAP actuator material due to its merits in terms of lightweight, dry condition, large displacement output, low actuation voltage and low power consumption. EAPap material has been made using from cellulose materials. Cellulose fiber is dissolved into a solution and made into a sheet by using a spin coater. Thin electrodes are deposited on the cellulose paper to comprise an EAPap. Next the EAPap is made into plate or beam specimens cut along a specific orientation to enhance the actuator performance. This paper will present the performance evaluation of EAPap in terms of free displacement and blocking force with respect to frequency and activation voltage. Also, environmental effects such as temperature and humidity will be addressed. To understand the actuation principle, characteristics of EAPap in terms of fibrous nature, their crystallinity, and mechanical, physical and electrochemical characteristics are showninvestigated. Since paper is flexible, force output in bending is weak. Thus, hybrid EAPap actuators have been innovated by coating conducting polymers or carbon nanotubes on both sides of EAPap. Finally, possibility of these EAPap as biomimetic actuators is addressed in terms of displacement, force output, power consumption, working frequency, efficiency and environmental effects.