В ВГИ/ Proceedings of VSUET ISSN 2226-910X E-ISSN 2310-1202 Для цитирования For citation Ольвера Берналь Р.А, Успенская М.В., Олехнович Р.О. Биополимеры и их применение в качестве электроактивных полимеров // Вестник ВГУИТ. 2021. Т. 83. № 1. С. 270–277. doi:10.20914/2310-1202-2021- 1-270-277 Olvera Bernal R.A., Uspenskaya M.V., Olekhnovich R.O. Biopolymers and its application as electroactive polymers. Vestnik VGUIT [Proceedings of VSUET]. 2021. vol. 83. no. 1. pp. 270–277. (in Russian). doi:10.20914/2310-1202-2021-1-270-277 © 2021, Olvera Bernal R.A. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License 270 Химическая технология Chemical Technology DOI: http://doi.org/10.20914/2310-1202-2021-1-270-277 Обзорная статья/Review article УДК 628.523 Open Access Available online at vestnik-vsuet.ru Biopolymers and its application as electroactive polymers Olvera Bernal R.A. 1 Mayya V. Uspenskaya 1 Roman O. Olekhnovich 1 rigel_obra@itmo.ru mv_uspenskaya@mail.ru r.o.olekhnovich@mail.ru 1 Institute of Bioengineering, ITMO University, Kronverkskiy Pr, 49, bldg. A, St. Petersburg, 197101, Russia Summary. Smart materials are a group of materials that exhibit the ability to change their composition or structure, their electrical and/or mechanical properties, or even their functions in response to an external stimulus such as heat, light, electricity, pressure, etc. Some of the advantages of these materials are: lightweight, flexibility, low cost of production, high energy density, fast response and compact size. One of the promises in the area of smart materials can be found in “smart polymer”. Polymers have many attractive characteristics, such as: lightweight, inexpensiveness, fractures tolerant, and pliable. Furthermore, they can be configured into almost any conceivable shape and their properties can be tailored according to the required needs. The capability of electroactive polymers (EAPs) to respond to electrical stimuli with a mechanical response, is attracting the attention of the scientific community from a wide range of disciplines. Biopolymers in recent decades have been studied as potential electroactive materials. These groups of polymers are extracted from a natural source; thus, they are eco-friendly, additionally they stand as a cheaper solution for the development of smart materials.The present manuscript will explore some of its applications as EAPs. Keywords: biopolymers, eaps, hydrogels, electrorheology, electroactive films Introduction Electroactive polymers (ЕАРs) is a general term for all organic polymers which exhibit mechanical response to an electrical stimulus, as a result, these polymers show a change of shape or dimensions [1]. When talking about ЕАРs it is possible to classify them into two major groups depending on their mechanical response for actua- tion (figure 1). In the first group there are electronic ЕАРs (which are driven by electric field or cou- lomb forces); in the second group are ionic ЕАРs (which change shape by mobility or diffusion of ions and their conjugated substances) [2]. The ac- tuation mechanism that these polymers possess, has enable engineers and scientist to establish novel approaches in the development of new tech- nologies based on natural systems, the concept of copying or imitating biological systems is known as “Biomimicry”, which in recent decades has been use for the development of new technologies [3], as an example, the use of ЕАРs, are used to produce bio-inspired actuators, commonly known as artificial muscles. The application of these new technologies has been already implemented in many different fields such as, soft robots, steering mechanisms, braille displays, miniature grippers, loudspeakers, active diaphragm and pumps, toys, as well as many others. [4]. Other applications that ЕАРs can have, is to be used as sensors and power generators. Figure 1. Electroactive polymers classification Biopolymers are groups of polymers pro- duced by living beings; for instance, plants, animals, bacterias, and fungi [5]. The term biopolymer stands in its literal sense as biological derived and biodegradable polymer, but there are some excep- tions, among the group of biopolymers, we can find a type of polymers that are synthetized through chemical processes, these are called synthetic biopolymers [6].