Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) composite ®bres were prepared via solution spinning and subsequently, semi-interpenetrating networks (SIPN) were obtained by crosslinking the ®bres with glutaraldehyde. The hydrogel ®bres exhibited bending behaviour under DC electric stimulation. The effects of a number of factors have been systematically studied, including the PAA content within the network, electric voltage imposed across the ®bre, the ®bre diameter, concentration of the crosslinking agent, pH and ionic strength of the bath solution. Our experimental results show a stable reversibility of bending behaviour under the applied electric ®eld. The degree of bending at equilibrium and the bending speed of the hydrogel ®bre increased with the intensity of the applied electric voltage and the PAA content having negatively charged ionic groups within the SIPN. The electroresponsive behaviour of the present SIPN hydrogel ®bre was also affected by the aforementioned extrinsic factors. These observations are interpreted in terms of ®bre stiffness, ®xed charge density and swelling pressure, which depend on the hydrogel equilibrium states in different pH and ionic environments together with the electrochemical reactions under DC electric ®eld.
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