Cellulose-based electro-actuators have enormous potential in various applications, e.g. artificial muscles, soft grippers, medical devices, just to name a few, owing to their high mechanical strength, lightness and natural abundance. However, significant challenges remain in the fabrication of such electro-actuators featuring low operating voltage and fast response kinetics. We report here a facile fabrication route towards high-performance electro-actuators composed of CNFs films doped with ionic liquids or lithium salts and sandwiched by two thin film gold electrodes. Large bending motion at voltages as low as 3.0 V could be observed. The size effect of both anions and cations on the actuation was comprehensively investigated. CNF-TFSI@LiTFSI and CNF-BF₄@EMIM-BF₄ electro-actuators presented the best bending strain under an AC voltage of 3.0 V. This work provides new inspiration in the design of natural polymer-based high-performance electro-actuators.

基于纤维素的电致动器在各种应用中具有巨大的潜力，例如人造肌肉、软抓手、医疗设备，仅举几例，因为它们具有高机械强度、轻便性和天然丰富性。然而，在制造这种具有低工作电压和快速响应动力学特性的电致动器方面仍然存在重大挑战。我们在这里报告了一种简便的制造高性能电致动器的方法，该电致动器由掺杂离子液体或锂盐的 CNF 薄膜组成，并夹在两个薄膜金电极之间。可以观察到低至 3.0 V 的电压下的大弯曲运动。全面研究了阴离子和阳离子对驱动的尺寸效应。CNF-TFSI@LiTFSI 和 CNF-BF ₄ @EMIM-BF ₄电致动器在 3.0 V 的交流电压下表现出最佳弯曲应变。这项工作为基于天然聚合物的高性能电致动器的设计提供了新的灵感。