title: Electrically responsive materials based on polycarbazole/sodium alginate hydrogel blend for soft and flexible actuator application.
abstract: The electromechanical properties, namely the storage modulus sensitivity and bending, of sodium alginate (SA) hydrogels and polycarbazole/sodium alginate (PCB/SA) hydrogel blends under applied electric field was investigated. The electromechanical properties of the pristine SA were studied under effects of crosslinking types and SA molecular weights, whereas the PCB/SA hydrogel blends were studied under the effect of PCB concentrations. The storage modulus sensitivity and bending of the pristine SA as crosslinked by the ionic crosslinking agent were found to be higher than those of the covalent crosslinking. The storage modulus sensitivity and deflection of the SA increased monotonically with increasing molecular weight. The highest electromechanical response of the PCB/SA hydrogel blends was obtained from the blend with 0.10% v/v PCB as it provided surprisingly the highest ever storage modulus sensitivity, (G'-G'0)/G'0 where G'0 and G' are the storage modulus without and with applied electric field, respectively, at 18.5 under applied electric field strength of 800V/mm.
authors.affiliation: The Petroleum and Petrochemical College, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand.
authors.forename: Watchara
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Sangwan
authors.affiliation: The Petroleum and Petrochemical College, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand.
authors.forename: Karat
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Petcharoen
authors.affiliation: The Petroleum and Petrochemical College, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand.
authors.forename: Nophawan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Paradee
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Industrial Technology, Silpakorn University, Nakornpathom 73000, Thailand.
authors.forename: Wanchai
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Lerdwijitjarud
authors.affiliation: The Petroleum and Petrochemical College, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand. Electronic address: anuvat.s@chula.ac.th.
authors.forename: Anuvat
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sirivat
keywords: Electromechanical properties; Hydrogels; Polycarbazole; Sodium alginate; Soft and flexible actuators