Ionic Electroactive Polymer Actuators with Tailored NanoStructure Morphology

这笔赠款的研究目的是阐明导致观察到的离子电活性聚合物(I-EAP)机电响应的基本微米和纳米过程。电活性聚合物由于具有高应变响应、低密度、耐断裂和柔韧性等许多吸引人的性质和特点，适合于广泛的传感和驱动应用。可以在几伏特下工作的i-EAP特别有吸引力，因为它允许与先进的微电子技术直接集成，从而为多功能大规模集成开辟了一种全新的器件范例。然而，I-EAP的效率相对较低，动作速度也较慢。传统I-EAP中的多孔电极具有随机的形态，这在物理上阻碍了离子的传输，导致响应时间缓慢和效率降低。这项拟议的研究将开发具有独特可控和可调纳米结构形态的I-EAP，并研究能够最大限度地产生应变和驱动速度的离子液体。离子的大小及其通过类似大小(和可控制的)纳米级通道的传输，有可能发现新的物理限制传输。通过系统地定制纳米结构形态和改变离子液体，我们打算揭示控制I-EAP材料和器件中机电响应的基本过程。如果成功，这种跨学科的合作努力将扩展已知的I-EAP材料，允许I-EAP器件的操作远高于电解液的电化学窗口，发展对具有已知纳米结构形态的纳米复合材料中离子传输和存储的理解，并提供I-EAP材料中不同离子的结构-性质关系。宾夕法尼亚州立大学和麻省理工学院的这一合作项目将在多学科交流的背景下为研究生和本科生提供教育和培训，范围从纳米材料科学和工程、纳米复合材料和MEMS制造技术、先进的纳米材料表征到设备级集成。该计划将通过向高中、县图书馆和其他机构传播描述先进材料和纳米技术的广泛能源应用的视频特写来扩大该计划的广泛影响，并将加强两门研究生课程。该计划还将酌情通过公共媒体渠道积极传播知识，如机构新闻稿和探索与科学频道。

The research objective of this grant is to elucidate the fundamental micro- and nano-scopic processes that are responsible for the observed electromechanical responses in ionic electroactive polymers (i-EAPs). Electroactive polymers, because of their many attractive properties and characteristics including high strain response, low density, fracture tolerance, and pliability, are suitable for a broad range of sensing and actuating applications. i-EAPs that can be operated under a few volts are particularly attractive because this allows direct integration with advanced microelectronics, which opens up an entirely new device paradigm for multifunctional large-scale integrations. However, i-EAPs suffer relatively low efficiency as well as low actuation speed. The porous electrodes in traditional i-EAPs have a random morphology that physically impedes ion transport, resulting in slow response times and reduced efficiency. The proposed study will exploit i-EAPs with uniquely controlled and tunable nanostructure morphology and investigate ionic liquids that can maximize the strain generated and actuation speed. Ion size, and its transport through similarly sized (and controllable) nanoscale channels, has the potential to uncover new physics limiting transport. By systematically tailoring the nanostructure morphology, and varying the ionic liquids, we intend to unravel fundamental processes controlling the electromechanical response in the i-EAP materials and devices.If successful, this interdisciplinary collaborative effort will expand the known i-EAP materials, allow the operation of i-EAP devices to much above the electrochemical window of the electrolytes, develop an understanding of ion transport and storage in nanocomposites with known nanostructure morphology, and provide structure-property relations for different ions in i-EAP materials. This collaborative program between Penn State and MIT will provide education and training of graduate students and undergraduate in a multi-disciplinary exchange context, ranging from nano-materials science and engineering, nanocomposites and MEMs fabrication techniques, advanced nano-materials characterizations, through to device-level integration. This program will pursue a proliferation of the broad-impact results from this program by disseminating video features depicting the broad energy applications of advanced materials and nanotechnology to high-schools and county libraries and other institutions and two graduate courses will be enhanced. The program will also actively disseminate knowledge through public media outlets as appropriate, such as institutional press releases and the Discovery & Science Channels.