Fabrication of an ionic polymer-carbon nanotube composite for a new configurative actuator

In this study, an ionic polymer-carbon nanotube composite (IPNTC) was developed to function as a new configurative actuator. The IPNTC was fabricated with carbon nanotube-reinforced ionic polymer as electroactive middle layer and functional multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWNT) diaphragm as electrode layers coated on the two sides of the membrane. Scanning electron microscopy images show that the interface between functional MWNT-diaphragms and polymer membrane has strong adhesion. Furthermore, the MWNT-diaphragm has a uniform dense porous structure, and MWNTs entangle and interpenetrate each other. The IPNTC actuator has remarkable displacement output under low-voltage stimulation and it can last for 3000 cycles with only 10% reduction in the displacement output.