CELLULOSE, cilt.22, sa.3, ss.1873-1881, 2015 (SCI-Expanded)
Electroactive behavior of carboxymethylcellulose (CMC)-based actuators was investigated in this study. CMC-based films were firstly fabricated by using 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide. Characterization studies of the CMC films were conducted by using Fourier transform infrared, X-ray diffraction analysis, thermogravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscopy, and tensile testing. CMC-based actuator films were produced by gold coating on both surfaces of CMC-based films Polyethylene glycol (PEG) at different loadings (1, 1.5 and 2 g) was used to improve electroactive behavior of CMC based actuators. Maximum tip displacements were obtained under DC excitation voltages of 1, 3, 5 and 7 V. CMC based actuator loaded with 1.5 g PEG exhibited the largest tip displacement among other actuators for each excitation voltage. The PEG loading did not lead to considerable differences in tensile strength of CMC-based films However, Young's modulus decreased with PEG loading.