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Electroactive Ionic Soft Actuators with Monolithically Integrated Gold Nanocomposite Electrodes
Author(s) -
Yan Yunsong,
Santaniello Tommaso,
Bettini Luca Giacomo,
Minnai Chloé,
Bellacicca Andrea,
Porotti Riccardo,
Denti Ilaria,
Faraone Gabriele,
Merlini Marco,
Lenardi Cristina,
Milani Paolo
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
advanced materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 10.707
H-Index - 527
eISSN - 1521-4095
pISSN - 0935-9648
DOI - 10.1002/adma.201606109
Subject(s) - materials science , ionic bonding , ionic conductivity , electroactive polymers , nanocomposite , composite material , polymer , electrode , artificial muscle , elastomer , chemical engineering , nanotechnology , ion , actuator , electrolyte , organic chemistry , chemistry , electrical engineering , engineering
Electroactive ionic gel/metal nanocomposites are produced by implanting supersonically accelerated neutral gold nanoparticles into a novel chemically crosslinked ion conductive soft polymer. The ionic gel consists of chemically crosslinked poly(acrylic acid) and polyacrylonitrile networks, blended with halloysite nanoclays and imidazolium‐based ionic liquid. The material exhibits mechanical properties similar to that of elastomers (Young's modulus ≈ 0.35 MPa) together with high ionic conductivity. The fabrication of thin (≈100 nm thick) nanostructured compliant electrodes by means of supersonic cluster beam implantation (SCBI) does not significantly alter the mechanical properties of the soft polymer and provides controlled electrical properties and large surface area for ions storage. SCBI is cost effective and suitable for the scaleup manufacturing of electroactive soft actuators. This study reports the high‐strain electromechanical actuation performance of the novel ionic gel/metal nanocomposites in a low‐voltage regime (from 0.1 to 5 V), with long‐term stability up to 76 000 cycles with no electrode delamination or deterioration. The observed behavior is due to both the intrinsic features of the ionic gel (elasticity and ionic transport capability) and the electrical and morphological features of the electrodes, providing low specific resistance (<100 Ω cm −2 ), high electrochemical capacitance (≈mF g −1 ), and minimal mechanical stress at the polymer/metal composite interface upon deformation.