Division of Advanced Materials Science (WCU), Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), Pohang 790-784, Korea.
Nat Commun. 2013;4:2208. doi: 10.1038/ncomms3208.
Electroactive actuators have received enormous interest for a variety of biomimetic technologies ranging from robotics and microsensors to artificial muscles. Major challenges towards practically viable actuators are the achievement of large electromechanical deformation, fast switching response, low operating voltage and durable operation. Here we report a new electroactive actuator composed of self-assembled sulphonated block copolymers and ionic liquids. The new actuator demonstrated improvements in actuation properties over other polymer actuators reported earlier, large generated strain (up to 4%) without any signs of back relaxation. In particular, the millimetre-scale displacements obtained for the actuators, with rapid response (<1 s) at sub-1-V conditions over 13,500 cycles in air, have not been previously reported in the literature. The key to success stems from the evolution of the unique hexagonal structure of the polymer layer with domain size gradients beneath the cathode during actuation, which promotes the bending motion of the actuators.
电活性致动器因其在各种仿生技术中的应用而受到广泛关注，这些技术涵盖了从机器人技术和微传感器到人工肌肉等多个领域。对于实际可行的致动器而言，主要的挑战在于实现大的机电变形、快速的开关响应、低工作电压和耐用的操作。在这里，我们报告了一种由自组装磺化嵌段共聚物和离子液体组成的新型电活性致动器。与之前报道的其他聚合物致动器相比，这种新型致动器在致动性能方面有了显著的提高，产生了较大的应变（高达 4%），而且没有任何反向松弛的迹象。特别是，在空气环境中，在 1 伏以下的条件下，通过毫米级的位移，在 13500 个循环内的快速响应时间（<1 秒），在文献中尚未有过报道。成功的关键源于聚合物层在致动过程中独特的六边形结构的演变，以及阴极下方的畴尺寸梯度，这促进了致动器的弯曲运动。
