Lu Chao, Chen Xi
Department of Earth and Environmental Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA.
School of Chemical Engineering, Northwest University, Xi'an 710069, China.
Materials (Basel). 2020 Feb 1;13(3):656. doi: 10.3390/ma13030656.
Electrochemical actuators have attracted tremendous attention worldwide because of their critical significance to artificial intelligence. The development of electrochemical actuators-with the merits of low driven-voltage, lightweight, flexibility and large deformation-is an urgent task in the development of smart technologies. Nanomaterials with special structures and superior properties provide the opportunity for the development and application of smart actuators. Here, we report an electrochemical actuator based on an ionogel graphene composite, which is assembled with simple casting methodology and can be driven with a low voltage of 2.5 V. The flexible sandwich-structured actuator operates under a capacitive mechanism based on asymmetrical volume expansion of active ions under electrical stimulus. It shows a high specific capacitance of 39 F g at current density of 1 A g under potential of 2.5 V. The specific capacitance is calculated on the weight of graphene. The device presents a large actuation peak-to-peak displacement of 24 mm at a frequency of 0.1 Hz under the stimulus potential of 2.5 V, and it can still reach a large value of 12 mm at a high frequency of 1 Hz. The free length of the device is 25 mm. Notably, the device exhibits excellent air-working stability at frequency of 1 Hz under 2.5 V with the actuation displacement retention of 98%, even after 10,000 cycles. This study presents insights into the design of smart actuators based on nanomaterials, and will accelerate the development of artificial intelligence.
由于电化学致动器对人工智能具有至关重要的意义，因此在全球范围内引起了极大关注。具有低驱动电压、重量轻、柔韧性好和变形大等优点的电化学致动器的开发，是智能技术发展中的一项紧迫任务。具有特殊结构和优异性能的纳米材料为智能致动器的开发和应用提供了契机。在此，我们报道了一种基于离子凝胶-石墨烯复合材料的电化学致动器，它采用简单的浇铸方法组装而成，可在2.5 V的低电压下驱动。这种柔性三明治结构的致动器基于电刺激下活性离子的不对称体积膨胀，在电容机制下运行。在2.5 V的电位下，当电流密度为1 A g时，它显示出39 F g的高比电容。比电容是基于石墨烯的重量计算得出的。该器件在2.5 V的刺激电位下，频率为0.1 Hz时呈现出24 mm的大驱动峰-峰位移，在1 Hz的高频下仍能达到12 mm的大值。该器件的自由长度为25 mm。值得注意的是，即使在10000次循环后，该器件在2.5 V、1 Hz的频率下仍表现出优异的空气工作稳定性，驱动位移保持率为98%。这项研究为基于纳米材料的智能致动器设计提供了见解，并将加速人工智能的发展。
