Tsinghua-Foxconn Nanotechnology Research Center and Department of Physics, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, PR China.
ACS Nano. 2011 Mar 22;5(3):1588-93. doi: 10.1021/nn102251a. Epub 2011 Feb 10.
In this work, we show that embedding super-aligned carbon nanotube sheets into a polymer matrix (polydimethylsiloxane) can remarkably reduce the coefficient of thermal expansion of the polymer matrix by two orders of magnitude. Based on this unique phenomenon, we fabricated a new kind of bending actuator through a two-step method. The actuator is easily operable and can generate an exceptionally large bending actuation with controllable motion at very low driving DC voltages (<700 V/m). Furthermore, the actuator can be operated without electrolytes in the air, which is superior to conventional carbon nanotube actuators. Proposed electrothermal mechanism was discussed and confirmed by our experimental results. The exceptional bending actuation performance together with easy fabrication, low-voltage, and controllable motion demonstrates the potential ability of using this kind of actuator in various applicable areas, such as artificial muscles, microrobotics, microsensors, microtransducers, micromanipulation, microcantilever for medical applications, and so on.
在这项工作中，我们展示了将超取向碳纳米管片嵌入聚合物基体（聚二甲基硅氧烷）中，可以将聚合物基体的热膨胀系数显著降低两个数量级。基于这一独特现象，我们通过两步法制备了一种新型弯曲致动器。该致动器易于操作，可在非常低的驱动直流电压（<700 V/m）下产生非常大的弯曲致动，并且具有可控的运动。此外，该致动器可以在空气中无需电解质运行，这优于传统的碳纳米管致动器。我们通过实验结果讨论并证实了所提出的电热机制。这种弯曲致动性能优异，制造简单，工作电压低，运动可控，这表明这种致动器在各种应用领域具有潜在的应用能力，如人造肌肉、微机器人、微传感器、微致动器、微操作、用于医疗应用的微悬臂梁等。
