Electromechanical behavior of a fully plastic actuator based on dispersed nano-carbon/ionic-liquid-gel electrodes

A bucky-gel actuator based on active electrodes composed of activated carbon nanofibers (ACNFs), ionic liquids (ILs) and poly (vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene (PVdF(HFP)) as polymer support have been developed (ACNF-actuator). The frequency dependence of the displacement was measured for the actuators containing seven kinds of ILs. The frequency responses of the ACNF-actuators were one order of magnitude lower than those of the SWCNT-actuators. The reason for this is attributed to the lower conductivity of the ACNF-electrode. In order to improve the response of the ACNF-actuator, the electrode of the actuator was optimized by mixing the ACNFs with SWCNTs (ACNF–SWCNT electrode) or vapor grown carbon fibers (VGCFs) (ACNF–VGCF electrode) for the purpose of increasing the conductivity of the electrode. We have improved the performance of the actuator by optimizing the ratio of the two carbons. We are thus able to tune nano-carbon materials for specific applications of the electromechanical actuator.