Study on the 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. The performance of EAPap depends on the material orientation of cellulose film. Electrospinning was used to improve material directionality of EAPap. LiCl/DMAc cellulose solution, which cotton pulp was dissolved in Lithium Chloride (LiCl) and N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMAc) solvent, was used for 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 provided that aligned cellulose film was obtained by the proposed electrospinning and wet drawn stretching method. XRD patterns showed electrospinning and stretching method improved both crystal structure and crystallinity of cellulose film, which could improve piezoelectricity of EAPap. Induced inplane strain of electrospun EAPap was proportional to the applied voltage and larger than that of spincast EAPap. The performance of EAPap was improved by aligning cellulose fibers.