A hybrid electro-responsive SWNT/PEDOT: PSS-based membrane towards soft actuator applications

Abstract

The flexible soft actuators of conducting polymers can directly convert electrical stimulus into mechanical motions, which can be used for robotics and biomimetic applications. Herein, an electro-responsive membrane actuator based on poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-poly(styrene sulfonate), functionalized single-walled carbon nanotube was fabricated using solution casting method with poly(vinyl alcohol) as a base intermediate polymer membrane. The poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-poly(styrene sulfonate) was evenly ornamented onto the single-walled carbon nanotube/poly(vinyl alcohol) membrane (single-walled carbon nanotube/ poly(vinyl alcohol)/ poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-poly(styrene sulfonate)) surfaces through dip coating and verified by scanning electron and transmission electron microscopy analysis. The desirable bending response of the fabricated single-walled carbon nanotube/ poly(vinyl alcohol)/poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-poly(styrene sulfonate) membrane with time at different voltages and generated tip force makes it a promising material as a new-generation conductive polymer-based soft actuator. A permutation of the electrical conductivity, more surface area, and admirable electromechanical properties of the single-walled carbon nanotube/poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-poly(styrene sulfonate) components consequences in the composite electrode exhibited excellent actuation performance compared to the ionic polymer-metal composite actuators with Pt electrodes surface. The fabricated actuator membrane can be employed for artificial muscles, robotics, and other bio-mimetic applications.

Fabrication and performance analysis of high-performance cylindrical ionic polymer-metal composite actuators with various diameters

“…The sufficiently thick Pt electrodes contribute to charge injection and ion migration, and reduce surface resistance [8,24,27,47]. Furthermore, the surface resistance of the cylindrical IPMCs with various diameters measured by a digital multimeter ranges from 1.2 to 2 Ω cm −1 (as shown in table 1), which is lower than the previous peer work [5,11,18,26,27,[30][31][32]48], thus the actuation performance of cylindrical IPMCs can be effectively improved.…”

“…Artificial muscle technology based on electro-active polymer (EAP) has developed rapidly and has broad application prospects [1][2][3][4][5]. Ionic polymer-metal composites (IPMCs) are one of the most appealing EAP artificial muscles, which can show large bending deflection and fast response under a low driving voltage (1-5 V) [6][7][8][9][10].…”

Melanin/PEDOT:PSS blend as organic mixed ionic electronic conductor (OMIEC) for sustainable electronics

“…The spectrum of pure PEDOT: PSS exhibits a large band at 2900-3500 cm À1 associated with -OH stretching from PSS moieties and -CH 2 asymmetric stretching. 52,53 The peak around B1640 cm À1 and B1025 cm À1 are assigned to CQC and C-C stretching of the phenyl side group and quinoid ring in EDOT. 54,55 C-O-C bond stretching of ethylenedioxy group are observed at B1370 cm À1 .…”

Polythiophene-wrapped Chitosan Nanofibrils with a Bouligand Structure toward Electrochemical Macroscopic Membranes

“…The π electrons in the conjugated backbone are delocalized into a conduction band, thus giving rise to the metallic behavior . Chemical and/or electrochemical methods can be used to synthesize polythiophene with the controllability of structural forms such as thin films, porous networks, fibers, and particle colloids. − Among π-conjugated polymers such as polypyrrole, polyaniline, and poly­(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT), polythiophene-based materials have been widely investigated computationally and experimentally to explore their electrochemical properties for applications in analytical electrodes, light-emitting diodes, biosensors, actuators, and energy storage and conversion. − Recently, much progress has been made in using electrical conductive polymeric materials for biomedical applications in biosensors, tissue engineering, soft actuator, and biomedical implants. ,− However, the poor mechanical reinforcement and low biocompatibility of polythiophene are obstacles to integration into biofunctional systems. To address this limitation, the homogeneous incorporation of biopolymers into polythiophene is an alternative pathway to obtain multifunctional composites with electrochemical response and biological compatibility. − …”

“… 18 − 21 Recently, much progress has been made in using electrical conductive polymeric materials for biomedical applications in biosensors, tissue engineering, soft actuator, and biomedical implants. 16 , 22 − 23 24 However, the poor mechanical reinforcement and low biocompatibility of polythiophene are obstacles to integration into biofunctional systems. To address this limitation, the homogeneous incorporation of biopolymers into polythiophene is an alternative pathway to obtain multifunctional composites with electrochemical response and biological compatibility.…”