The trend across the whole of society is to focus on natural and/or biodegradable materials such as cellulose (Cell) over synthetic polymers. Among other usage scenarios, Cell can be combined with electroactive components such as multiwall carbon nanotubes (CNT) to form composites, such as Cell-CNT fibers, for applications in actuators, sensors, and energy storage devices. In this work, we aim to show that by changing the potential window, qualitative multifunctionality of the composites can be invoked, in both electromechanical response as well as energy storage capability. Cell-CNT fibers were investigated in different potential ranges (0.8 V to -0.3 V, 0.55 V to -0.8 V, 1 V to -0.8 V, and 1.5 V to -0.8 V), revealing the transfer from cation-active to anion-active as the potential window shifted towards more positive potentials. Moreover, increasing the driving frequency also shifts the mode from cation- to anion-active. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy were conducted to determine the ion species participating in charge compensation under different conditions.
Keywords: Cell-CNT fibers; change of actuation; linear actuation; organic electrolyte; potential range.