Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 28, 2025
14:42
Fabrication of Carbon-Based Ionic Electromechanically Active Soft Actuators
Published on: April 25, 2020
8.4K
Carbon nanotubes-elastomer actuator driven electrothermally by low-voltage
Jae-Hun Jeong1, Tae Jin Mun1, Hyunsoo Kim1
1Center for Self-powered Actuation, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Hanyang University Seoul 04763 Korea sjk@hanyang.ac.kr.
Nanoscale Advances
|September 22, 2022
Summary
Researchers developed a novel electroactive polymer actuator using carbon nanotubes and methanol. This phase-transition-based actuator offers high work capacity and tensile contraction at low voltage, addressing key limitations in EAP applications.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Polymer Science
- Robotics
Background:
- Electroactive polymers (EAPs) show promise for robotics, sensors, and biomedical devices.
- Current EAP actuators face challenges with incomplete reversibility and high voltage requirements, limiting practical use.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a novel EAP actuator overcoming limitations of existing technologies.
- To demonstrate an actuator based on phase transition for improved performance.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of a hybrid coiled yarn muscle using carbon nanotubes infiltrated with an elastomer and methanol mixture.
- Utilizing electrothermal driving for actuation.
Main Results:
- Achieved a work capacity of 0.49 kJ kg⁻¹ and 30.5% tensile contraction within 3 seconds at 5 V and 3.1 MPa.
- Demonstrated a maximum work capacity under isobaric conditions (23.4 MPa), 110 times that of mammalian skeletal muscles.
Conclusions:
- The developed phase-transition-based EAP actuator offers significant improvements in work capacity and efficiency.
- This novel actuator presents a promising candidate for practical applications in soft robotics and other fields.
