The causes of Au-electrode damage to an electroactive paper (EAPap) actuator coated with Au and polypyrrole (PPy) were investigated with various electric field frequencies and strengths. The resonance frequency of 3.5 Hz was obtained for 3 and 4 V. Electric field frequencies below (2 Hz) the resonance frequency yielded a faster bending displacement reduction than those of the higher resonance frequency. High electric field strength (4 V) shows a faster reduction of bending displacement than lower field strength (3 V). The degree of Au-electrode damage after a certain period of actuation is shown in field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) images. The electric field strength and frequency and bending displacement reduction were found to be closely related to the degree of Au-electrode damage.

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The electro-active paper (EAPap) has been investigated as a light-weight and low power consuming actuator. The EAPap cannot be utilized conventional lithography technique for fabrication of metal pattern due to its hydrophilic and flexible properties. A metal pattern fabrication on the EAPap is a beginning step for the integration of the paper actuators and micro-electronics. To overcome the drawback of the EAPap, a micro-contact printing (μ-CP) technique was utilized to fabricate Au-patterns on EAPap. Large number of cracks or nanograins was observed on the transferred Au-pattern. These defects were closely related with the solvent polarity during the fabrication of adhesion self-assembly monolayer (SAM). To investigate the cause of defects, three different solvents having different polarity were utilized during the SAM layer fabrication process. The ethanol having high polarity was utilized to investigate the effect of the 3-mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane (MPTMS) concentration on micro or nano-defect formation.