Thermal switching of the actuation ability of an electroactive polymer actuator

Electroactive polymer actuators have the simple ability to be actuated by a voltage. In this study, we added a new function: the ability to be actuated by temperature. We used a bending‐electrostrictive actuator made of a polyurethane film. The polyurethane was designed to be rigid at room temperature but to be flexible at temperatures greater than 40°C because of the melting of the soft segment in the polyurethane. Therefore, the actuator showed slight bending in response to a voltage at room temperature. However, it showed significant bending at 61°C. The degree of bending at 61°C was 29 times greater than that at 13°C. Thus, the actuation ability was switched on at 61°C but switched off at 13°C. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 95: 1566–1570, 2005