In this poster, we designed a hybrid porous membrane actuator based on a cationic PIL poly[3-cyanomethyl-1-vinylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide], poly(acrylic acid) and cellulose tissue paper (termed PIL-PAA/tissue paper).[1] This membrane was fabricated by coating a solution of PIL and PAA in DMF onto tissue paper, followed by drying and then treated with aqueous ammonia solution to produce a gradient crosslinking degree and porous membrane. The presence of the pores and the structural gradient enabled membranes to serve as fast and sensitive actuators.[2] Compared to the native PIL-PAA membrane which is too fragile to be processed upon drying, the hybrid porous membrane based on PIL-PAA/tissue paper exhibits superior mechanical properties that can be easily folded into artificial flowers in drying state (Figure 1a). Besides, the hybrid membrane shows reversible actuation in acetone vapor and air. In acetone vapor, a fresh prepared membrane readily bent to a loop with a bending angle of 180o within 6 s. Upon pulling back to air, it recovered to flat state and further bent to opposite direction with -180o. Afterwards, the curving membrane again was put back into acetone vapor with a bending angle recovery from -180o to 180o, then turned to -180o upon back to air (Figure 1b). This is ascribed to the diffusion of acetone vapor into the gradient pores along the membrane cross-section, which creates asymmetric stress in the membrane and thus triggers the movement. Moreover, the composite membranes show high stability without obvious decrease of bending angle after 5 cycles within 70 s. These membranes can also be designed as contractive deformation and responsive textile (Figure 1c).

From cellulose tissue papers to nanoporous membrane actuators

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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