CAREER: Electroactive Graphene-Polymer System with Extreme Actuation and Tunable Properties

这项教师早期职业发展（Career）计划奖的研究目标是了解和利用电活性石墨烯-聚合物系统（eGPS）的大变形、不稳定性和微观结构演变，以实现极高的驱动应力和应变，以及其他新特性，如超疏水性和可调润湿性。受电压的影响，现有的聚合物可以达到相对较高的应力或应变水平，但不能同时达到两者。这种驱动应力和应变的不平衡极大地限制了这些聚合物的能量密度，阻碍了它们的应用前景。提出的eGPS创新地将聚合物共混物薄膜和具有分层图案的大面积石墨烯层压。聚合物共混物综合了不同聚合物的优点，而图图化的石墨烯作为具有新颖可调特性的轻质透明电极。本研究将采用实验与理论相结合的方法。PI发明的多场微观系统将用于探索eGPS的机电特性和不稳定性，并将建立多尺度理论模型来定量指导新材料和结构的设计。电活性石墨烯-聚合物体系是一种新型的软质活性材料，具有优于天然肌肉的多种性能参数。这些所谓的人造肌肉使各种技术成为可能，从机器人、药物输送到能量收集和储存。特别是，人造肌肉通过提供负担得起的设备，如轻量级拟人化假肢和整页盲文显示器，有望极大地改善数百万残疾人的生活质量。新型人造肌肉的广泛影响可能类似于压电陶瓷在20世纪对全球社会的影响。该项目的综合教育目标包括将软活性材料设计整合到工程课程中，一个关于人造肌肉的教师研究体验项目，以及一个K-12项目。此外，来自代表性不足群体的学生将积极参与该项目。

The research objective of this Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program award is to understand and exploit the large deformation, instabilities, and microstructure evolution of electroactive graphene-polymer systems (eGPS) to achieve extremely high actuation stress and strain, along with other novel properties such as superhydrophobicity and tunable wettability. Subject to voltages, existing polymers can reach relatively high levels of either stress or strain, but not both. This imbalance in actuation stress and strain greatly limits the energy density of these polymers and hampers their promising applications. The proposed eGPS innovatively laminates films of polymer blends and large-area graphene with hierarchical patterns. The polymer blends integrate merits of different polymers, while the patterned graphene acts as lightweight transparent electrodes with novel tunable properties. The proposed study will take an integrated experimental and theoretical approach. A multi-field microscopic system invented by the PI will be used to explore electromechanical properties and instabilities of eGPS, and a multi-scale theoretical model will be developed to quantitatively guide the design of new materials and structures.Electroactive graphene-polymer systems represent a new type of soft active material with multiple performance parameters that are superior to natural muscles. These so-called artificial muscles are enabling diverse technologies ranging from robotics and drug delivery to energy harvesting and storage. In particular, artificial muscles promise to greatly improve the quality of life for millions of disabled people by providing affordable devices such as lightweight anthropomorphic prostheses and full-page Braille displays. The broad impact of new artificial muscles is potentially analogous to the impact of piezoelectric ceramics on the global society in the twentieth century. The integrated educational objectives of the project include integration of soft-active-material design into the engineering curriculum, a Research Experience for Teachers program on artificial muscles, and a K-12 program. In addition, students from underrepresented groups will be actively engaged in the project.