I&EC 279 |
| Electro-active polymers (EAPs) that respond to external electrical stimulation with a significant shape or size change have been of great interest for use in a variety of actuators, especially in artificial muscles, because of their easiness of actuation, advantages of miniaturization, similar mechanical properties to biological systems, and so forth. However most of the current EAP actuators can be driven only at a high voltage or in aqueous media, therefore they have safety defects and long-term stability problems that impose some restrictions on the operating conditions. In this study, aiming at solving the drawbacks, new EAP actuators that can be driven at a low voltage under an atmospheric condition have been successfully designed. We have proposed and realized the application of electric double layer capacitors (EDLCs) using “ion-gels” as the polymer electrolytes, which are consisting of polymer networks and in ionic liquids, to the new EAP actuators. They have an advantage to be driven at a low voltage, and the presence of non-volatile and hydrophobic ionic liquid in the ion-gels allows them to be operated under an atmospheric condition for a long term. From the specific bending displacement that the actuators exhibit toward the externally applied voltage, we have exploited the principle of the applicability of the EDLCs to the new EAP actuators, and have approached to the elucidation of the operating mechanism. |
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Ionic Liquids: Not Just Solvents Anymore OR Ionic Liquids: Parallel Futures (Sponsored by Green Chemistry and Engineering, Separation Science and Technology and Novel Chemistry with Industrial Applications Sub-Divisions)
1:30 PM-5:45 PM, Wednesday, 29 March 2006 Georgia World Congress Center -- B314, Oral
Division of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry |