Electroactive CNT-Polymer-Actuators - State of Science and Technology and their slow Approach into Architectural Applications: Poster presented at NanoCarbon Annual Conference 2019, Würzburg, Germany, February 26th and 27th, 2019

For the past years, ionic electroactive polymer actuators (EAP) – often referred to as ‘artificial muscles’ – have attracted large interest from industry and academia due to their small actuation voltages, relatively large actuation response and their flexible and soft mechanical characteristics. However, their complex manufacturing process, their sophisticated material compositions and their sensitivity to environmental factors have so far limited a wider application range. For CNT-based EAP actuators, multiple variations of materials, dispersing methods and assembly processes have been adopted throughout the years with the aim to optimize not only their performance (stress, strain and reaction rate), but also their reproducibility. Current state of the art production methods are still in the domain of lab scale. This poster addresses the key issues in scaling up the manufacturing of ionic EAP and illustrates how innovative dispersion and printing techniques could help CNT actuators find their way into architectural applications. Looking at global trends such as lightweight construction and adaptive building envelopes, the focus is on ventilation and humidity regulation inside confined buildings and on how to empower users to regain control over individual comfort requirements. Other applications such as sun shading or information transmittance through varying surface structures are also investigated.