Investigation Of Bacterial Cellulose As A Carbon Fiber Precursor And Its Potential For Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting

Abstract

Bacterial cellulose was investigated regarding its suitability as a carbon fiber precursor as well as its potential in energy harvesting applications due to its inherent piezoelectric properties. Graphitization of bacterial cellulose was found to be insufficient up to treatment temperatures of 2200 ?C. The resulting structure without hot-stretching during the process is amorphous. Piezoelectricity was confirmed in bacterial cellulose. BC cantilevers were induced to oscillate via an electrical field applied across the thickness of the cantilever. Due to the random network structure of BC, methods for aligned growth were tested. Spatially confined growth on a patterned PDMS substrate resulted in aligned fiber threads. iii