Effect of heat treatment on the structure, piezoelectricity and actuation behavior of a cellulose electroactive-paper actuator

The effect of heat treatment on the structure, piezoelectricity and actuation behavior of cellulose electroactive-paper actuators was studied by infrared spectroscopy, piezoelectricity measurement and the tip displacement test. After heat treatment at 60 °C for 2 h, the piezoelectric coefficient (d31) was enhanced nearly 10-fold as compared to that of non-heat-treated films. However, when the treatment temperature was raised above 60 °C the piezoelectric coefficients were higher than the non-treated film but lower than that of film treated at 60 °C. Infrared and UV–visible spectroscopy suggested that there were changes in chemical structure at higher treatment temperatures. Furthermore, the tip displacement tests performed on the actuators also showed almost same trend as that of the piezoelectric constant.