One-volt-driven superfast polymer actuators based on single-ion conductors.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 27857067.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/ncomms13576 and PMC identifier 5120218.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
The key challenges in the advancement of actuator technologies related to artificial muscles include fast-response time, low operation voltages and durability. Although several researchers have tackled these challenges over the last few decades, no breakthrough has been made. Here we describe a platform for the development of soft actuators that moves a few millimetres under 1 V in air, with a superfast response time of tens of milliseconds. An essential component of this actuator is the single-ion-conducting polymers that contain well-defined ionic domains through the introduction of zwitterions; this achieved an exceptionally high dielectric constant of 76 and a 300-fold enhancement in ionic conductivity. Moreover, the actuator demonstrated long-term durability, with negligible changes in the actuator stroke over 20,000 cycles in air. Owing to its low-power consumption (only 4 mW), we believe that this actuator could pave the way for cutting-edge biomimetic technologies in the future.