title: High-performance, low-voltage, and easy-operable bending actuator based on aligned carbon nanotube/polymer composites.
abstract: In this work, we show that embedding super-aligned carbon nanotube sheets into a polymer matrix (polydimethylsiloxane) can remarkably reduce the coefficient of thermal expansion of the polymer matrix by two orders of magnitude. Based on this unique phenomenon, we fabricated a new kind of bending actuator through a two-step method. The actuator is easily operable and can generate an exceptionally large bending actuation with controllable motion at very low driving DC voltages (<700 V/m). Furthermore, the actuator can be operated without electrolytes in the air, which is superior to conventional carbon nanotube actuators. Proposed electrothermal mechanism was discussed and confirmed by our experimental results. The exceptional bending actuation performance together with easy fabrication, low-voltage, and controllable motion demonstrates the potential ability of using this kind of actuator in various applicable areas, such as artificial muscles, microrobotics, microsensors, microtransducers, micromanipulation, microcantilever for medical applications, and so on.
authors.affiliation: Tsinghua-Foxconn Nanotechnology Research Center and Department of Physics, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, PR China.
authors.forename: Luzhuo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Changhong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Ke
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Chuizhou
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Meng
authors.forename: Chunhua
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Jiaping
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Shoushan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fan
mesh_terms: D004129:Dimethylpolysiloxanes / Q000737:chemistry*; D055119:Elastic Modulus; D004581:Electronics / Q000295:instrumentation*; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D055617:Micro-Electrical-Mechanical Systems / Q000295:instrumentation*; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000295:instrumentation; D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D014159:Transducers
chemical_list: D004129:Dimethylpolysiloxanes; D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon; C013830:baysilon