Core-Shell Polyaniline-Carbon Nanotube Electrodes with Engineered Interfaces for High-Performance Ionic Polymer-Gel...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Robotics

Background:

• Ionic polymer-metal composites (IPMCs) are soft electroactive materials for actuation.
• Interfacial engineering between electrodes and polymer-gel membranes is crucial for IPMC performance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To comparatively investigate three core-shell nanocomposite electrodes for IPMC applications.
• To optimize interfacial architecture for enhanced electromechanical performance.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of core-shell nanocomposite electrodes via in situ polymerization.
• Characterization using XPS analysis.
• Electrochemical testing including specific capacitance and sheet resistance measurements.
• Integration with Nafion ion-gel membranes for IPMC actuator performance evaluation.

Main Results:

• Polyaniline-coated multi-walled carbon nanotube (PANI@MWCNT) composite showed a hierarchical structure and high surface area (32.345 m²·g⁻¹).
• PANI@MWCNT electrodes exhibited a specific capacitance 3.2 times greater than silver electrodes (40.28 mF·cm⁻² at 100 mV·s⁻¹).
• IPMC actuators with PANI@MWCNT electrodes achieved a 67% increase in force density and larger displacement.

Conclusions:

• Core-shell interfacial engineering is critical for governing IPMC electromechanical performance.
• Optimized PANI@MWCNT electrodes offer a practical design strategy for high-performance, cost-effective IPMC actuators.
• These findings are relevant for soft robotics, flexible electronics, and related applications.