High-Performance Natural Melanin/Poly(vinyl Alcohol-co-ethylene) Nanofibers/PA6 Fiber for Twisted and Coiled Fiber-Based Actuator

Jiahui Chen; Esfandiar Pakdel; Wanjie Xie; Lu Sun; Mengyuan Xu; Qiongzhen Liu; Dong Wang

doi:10.1007/s42765-020-00036-w

Advanced Fiber Materials ›› 2020, Vol. 2 ›› Issue (2) : 64 -73. DOI: 10.1007/s42765-020-00036-w

Research Article

High-Performance Natural Melanin/Poly(vinyl Alcohol-co-ethylene) Nanofibers/PA6 Fiber for Twisted and Coiled Fiber-Based Actuator

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¹College of Materials Science and Engineering, Hubei Key Laboratory of Advanced Textile Materials & Application, Wuhan Textile University, 430200, Wuhan, China

²Australian Future Fibers Research and Innovation Center, Institute for Frontier Materials, Deakin University, 75 Pigdons Road, 3220, Geelong, VIC, Australia

^g Wangdon08@126.com

Jiahui Chen

received her bachelor degree in textile engineering from Wuhan Textile University (China) in 2014 and completed her master degree under the supervision of Prof. Dong Wang at Materials Science and Engineering of Wuhan Textile University in 2017. She is now pursuing her PhD degree as a joint student of Wuhan Textile University and Deakin University (Australia), Currently, her research is focused on fiber-based energy conversion materials.

Esfandiar Pakdel

received his PhD in October 2015 from Deakin University in Australia for his work on investigating surface functionalisation of textiles using visible-light active photocatalytic nanocomposites. He is the recipient of Alfred Deakin Postdoctoral Research Fellowship 2017 and his main research interests are primarily on developing smart textiles, functional nanocoatings, synthesis of nanostructures for advanced photocatalysis, and novel recycling processes for fibrous materials.

Wanjie Xie

is a Ph.D. candidate studying at Institute for Frontier Materials, Deakin Univeristy. Her current research is mainly focused on the properties and functionalities of the melanin and its derivative materials. Her research interests also includes the design of functional polymers/composites/biomaterials

Lu Sun

joined the Centre for Material and Fibre Innovation, Deakin University in 2006 as a postdoctoral research fellow after she received her doctor degree from the State Key Laboratory for Supramolecular Structure and Materials, Jilin University, China. Since 2009, Dr Sun has been working on the application of functional materials to fibre/fabric as a Research Academic at Deakin’s Institute for Frontier Materials (IFM). She won “the Researcher of the Year 2008 for Smart Technology” in Geelong and the “Australia Fresh Scientist” in 2009. Dr. Sun has extensive international research relations with Universities and industries, especially in China. Dr. Sun has been awarded the “Sunshine Professor Fellowship”, Wuhan Textile University in 2012 and the “Chair Professor Fellowship, Chutian Scholars programme”, Hubei Province in 2017 in China. In 2016, Dr. Sun took the role of China Research Collaboration Coordinator at IFM and has in 2017 also joined the Strategic Partnerships team in DCVR office as the Senior Associate, partnerships development.

Mengyuan Xu

postgraduate of institute of science and technology in Wuhan Textile University. At present, she is mainly engaged in the research on the processing technology of polymer materials.

Qiongzhen Liu

is an associate professor at the School of Materials Science and Engineering in Wuhan Textile University. She received her PhD degree from Shanghai Jiaotong University in 2010. She had been a visiting scholar at the University of California, Davis (2018. 09-2019. 09). Her research focuses on energy-related nanofibers and textiles, magnetic materials, and new aerogels. She has received several research foundations from National Post Doctoral Committee, NSCF, Hubei province and CSC.

Dong Wang

is from Science and Technology Institute, Wuhan Textile University. He received his Ph.D. degree in Fiber and Polymer Science from the University of California, Davis in 2008. His research interests are fiber based wearable electronics, specifically in fiber based pressure sensor and electrochemistry transistor biosensors, functional fiber materials and nanofiber materials. He received the Youth Science and Technology Award in China in 2016, the Distinguished Achievement Award from the Fiber Society in 2018, Youth Science and Technology Award in Textiles by the China Textile Engineering Academy in 2015 and the First Prize of the China National Textile and Apparel Council (CNTAC) Award for Progress in Science and Technology in 2018.

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Abstract

Twisted and coiled fiber-based actuators have drawn a great attention because their unique structure can provide mechanical response with the external thermal stimulus. Herein, an ultra-fast and light-weight twisted and coiled fiber-based actuator was designed based on a nature melanin/poly (vinyl alcohol-co-ethylene) (PVA-co-PE) nanofibers/PA6 composite fiber. In brief, PA6 was firstly coated by melanin/PVA-co-PE nanofibers using a spraying method, followed by the twisting and coating the composite fiber to obtain the actuator. The excellent photothermal property of melanin contributed to the superior performance of the actuator, whereas the PVA-co-PE nanofibers was responsible for the uniform distribution of melanin and the enhanced mechanical property of the prepared-actuator. This unique design has led to the high performance of the melanin/NFs/PA6 fiber-based actuator, whose torsion actuation can reach to 14,000 rpm, and maximum tensile actuation was − 6.36% at temperature difference of 40 ℃. In addition, the tensile stress of PA6/NFs/melanin fiber was about four times higher than PA6 filaments. Owing to the simple and environmental-benign preparation method, as well as the excellent efficiency of twisted and coiled melanin/NFs/PA6 fiber-based actuator, this study highlights the facile design of the composite fiber for high-performance fiber-based actuators. This fiber-based actuator is promising for application in energy generator.

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Jiahui Chen, Esfandiar Pakdel, Wanjie Xie, Lu Sun, Mengyuan Xu, Qiongzhen Liu, Dong Wang. High-Performance Natural Melanin/Poly(vinyl Alcohol-co-ethylene) Nanofibers/PA6 Fiber for Twisted and Coiled Fiber-Based Actuator. Advanced Fiber Materials, 2020, 2(2): 64-73 DOI:10.1007/s42765-020-00036-w