Pneumatic Carbon Nanotube Actuators

Abstract

A new giant actuation mechanism is demonstrated for sheets of carbon single‐wall nanotubes that produces a 3 % actuator stroke in the in‐plane direction, and amplification to over 300 % in the thickness direction. Electrochemically generated gas bubbles form in the internal pores of the nanotube sheets (see Figure), producing a pneumatic‐type actuation at low application voltages.

Multifunctional, biocompatible and pH-responsive carbon nanotube- and graphene oxide/tectomer hybrid composites and coatings

“…7c), and side views (Fig. 7d) show the layered structures of these films that resemble those observed in CNT buckypapers 76 and in graphene-based sheets. 77,78 The films are electrically conductive (1 S cm -1 ); the conductivity is comparable to or even higher to those reported in the literature for biocompatible composite materials based on chitosan and CNTs or carbon nanofibers.…”

Monitoring the Contractile Properties of Optically Patterned Liquid Crystal Based Elastomers

“…They are, thereby, considered as artificial muscle materials. Different types of actuators have been developed using polymers as parent material, like for example polymer gels [15] [24] or dielectric elastomers [25]. Soft and highly flexible, the polymers are well adapted to be used as artificial muscle materials due to their high strength, deformation capabilities, and their capacity to keep intact their properties after several operating cycles.…”

A new solid-phase extraction disk based on a sheet of single-walled carbon nanotubes

“…However, the bundles were well ordered with small diameters. The interactions between the nanotubes were so strong that the stress generated by the nanotube sheets perpendicular to the disk surface was about five times higher than that of human skeletal muscle [16]. Therefore, these nanotubes can be fixed onto the filter surface without leaking or peeling during the processes of filtration or sample loading.…”

“…There are several reports on the use of CNT sheets in the fields of electronics and material science [14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24]. A CNT sheet, also called "bucky paper," is typically prepared by the vacuum filtration of a certain volume of CNT suspension through a filter [14,22].…”

“…CNT sheets can be readily assembled from SWCNTs, but are much more difficult to produce consistently from the more rigid MWCNTs [22]. SWCNT sheets have shown suitable mechanical properties and have been used as alternative actuators [14][15][16][17], electrolytes [18,19], artificial muscles [20], and sensors [21]. The SWCNT sheet possesses a much larger specific surface area than the SWCNT particles, and a sheet (47 mm in diameter) made from~30 mg of SWCNTs is typically 60 μm in thickness with a specific surface area of~700 m 2 /g [22].…”