Large-Deformation Curling Actuators Based on Carbon Nanotube Composite: Advanced-Structure Design and Biomimetic Application
Large-Deformation Curling Actuators Based on Carbon Nanotube Composite: Advanced-Structure Design and Biomimetic Application
复制标题
基于碳纳米管复合材料的大变形卷曲致动器：先进结构设计与仿生应用
DOI：
10.1021/acsnano.5b05413
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发表时间：
2015-12-01
期刊：
影响因子：
17.1
通讯作者：
Fan, Shoushan
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Chen, Luzhuo;Weng, Mingcen;Fan, Shoushan
近年来，电活性聚合物作为致动器材料得到了广泛的发展。电热致动器作为电活性聚合物的一个重要分支，在人工肌肉、仿生装置、机器人等领域具有广阔的应用前景。大形状变形、低压驱动驱动和超快制造是ETA发展的关键。然而，目前还没有实现所有这些优势的同时优化。实际的仿生应用也很少。在这项工作中，我们介绍了一种基于新设计的碳纳米管和聚合物复合材料的超快速制造卷曲驱动器的方法，该方法完全实现了上述所有要求的优点。该驱动器为超大卷曲驱动器，曲率大于1.0 cm(-1)，弯曲角度大于360度，甚至卷曲成管状结构。驱动电压降至5v的低电压。这种显著的驱动作用不仅归因于热膨胀系数的不匹配，还归因于温度变化过程中材料力学性能的变化。我们还构造了一个s形致动器，以表明构建先进结构致动器的可能性。进一步设计了一种举重行走机器人，在举起比自己重的样品时表现出快速移动的运动，展示了有前途的仿生应用。
In recent years, electroactive polymers have been developed as actuator materials. As an important branch of electroactive polymers, electrothermal actuators (ETAs) demonstrate potential applications in the fields of artificial muscles, biomimetic devices, robotics, and so on. Large-shape deformation, low-voltage-driven actuation, and ultrafast fabrication are critical to the development of ETA. However, a simultaneous optimization of all of these advantages has not been realized yet. Practical biomimetic applications are also rare. In this work, we introduce an ultrafast approach to fabricate a curling actuator based on a newly designed carbon nanotube and polymer composite, which completely realizes all of the above required advantages. The actuator shows an ultralarge curling actuation with a curvature greater than 1.0 cm(-1) and bending angle larger than 360 degrees, even curling into a tubular structure. The driving voltage is down to a low voltage of 5 V. The remarkable actuation is attributed not only to the mismatch in the coefficients of thermal expansion but also to the mechanical property changes of materials during temperature change. We also construct an S-shape actuator to show the possibility of building advanced-structure actuators. A weightlifting walking robot is further designed that exhibits a fast-moving motion while lifting a sample heavier than itself, demonstrating promising biomimetic applications.