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Electrochemically Powered, Energy‐Conserving Carbon Nanotube Artificial Muscles
Author(s) -
Lee Jae Ah,
Li Na,
Haines Carter S.,
Kim Keon Jung,
Lepró Xavier,
OvalleRobles Raquel,
Kim Seon Jeong,
Baughman Ray H.
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.201700870
Subject(s) - artificial muscle , materials science , carbon nanotube , ultimate tensile strength , electrolyte , high energy , nanotechnology , biomedical engineering , electrode , composite material , computer science , artificial intelligence , actuator , engineering physics , medicine , chemistry , engineering
While artificial muscle yarns and fibers are potentially important for many applications, the combination of large strokes, high gravimetric work capacities, short cycle times, and high efficiencies are not realized for these fibers. This paper demonstrates here electrochemically powered carbon nanotube yarn muscles that provide tensile contraction as high as 16.5%, which is 12.7 times higher than previously obtained. These electrochemical muscles can deliver a contractile energy conversion efficiency of 5.4%, which is 4.1 times higher than reported for any organic‐material‐based artificial muscle. All‐solid‐state parallel muscles and braided muscles, which do not require a liquid electrolyte, provide tensile contractions of 11.6% and 5%, respectively. These artificial muscles might eventually be deployed for a host of applications, from robotics to perhaps even implantable medical devices.