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Fabrication of Carbon-Based Ionic Electromechanically Active Soft Actuators

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Published on: April 25, 2020

A mechanical actuator driven electrochemically by artificial molecular muscles.

Bala Krishna Juluri¹, Ajeet S Kumar, Yi Liu

¹Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802-6812, USA.

|February 25, 2009

Summary

Artificial molecular muscles, bistable [3]rotaxanes, enable reversible microcantilever deflections. These molecular machines offer a foundational step for developing nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS).

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Area of Science:

Molecular Engineering
Nanotechnology
Materials Science

Background:

Microcantilevers coated with redox-controllable molecules can exhibit mechanical responses to electrochemical stimuli.
Bistable [3]rotaxane molecules, functioning as artificial molecular muscles, possess controllable conformational changes.
Thiol-gold chemistry provides a robust method for selective surface functionalization of microcantilevers.

Purpose of the Study:

To demonstrate reversible microcantilever deflections driven by redox-controllable, bistable [3]rotaxane molecules.
To quantify the forces generated by individual artificial molecular muscles.
To establish the potential of these molecular systems for nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS).

Main Methods:

Fabrication of microcantilever devices functionalized with [3]rotaxane monolayers via thiol-gold chemistry.
Electrochemical characterization using cyclic voltammetry and potential step experiments in an electrochemical cell.
Monitoring of microcantilever deflections using optical methods as a function of applied potential and scan rate.

Main Results:

Reversible, directional microcantilever deflections were observed upon alternating oxidation and reduction of the [3]rotaxane molecules.
Deflection magnitudes up to approximately 550 nm were recorded, corresponding to forces of approximately 650 pN per molecule.
Control experiments with bare microcantilevers and non-functionalized molecules confirmed the role of the artificial molecular muscles.

Conclusions:

The study validates the use of bistable [3]rotaxanes as artificial molecular muscles capable of generating significant forces.
The observed deflections are repeatable over multiple electrochemical cycles, demonstrating the durability of the system.
This work represents a significant advancement towards the integration of molecular machines into functional nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS).