Conducting polymer actuators

Figure 7 (a) Fabrication cross-sectional layout of conductive polymer actuated micro-... 

Numerous examples of developing conducting polymer actuators to operate as artificial muscles have been described in the literature. For example, a steerable cochlear implant with the CRC Cochlear Implant. (Melbourne, Australia), is under development.126 The microactuator will assist surgeons during implantation of the Bionic... 

Kim JH, Lau KT, Diamond D (2008) Fabrication of microfluidic pump using conducting polymer actuator. In Proceedings IEEE international conference on sensor networks, ubiquitous, and trustworthy computing, 11-13 June 2008, Taichung, Taiwan, pp 457-463 Laser DJ, Santiago JG (2004) J Micromech Microeng 14 35-64... 

Mazzoldi A, Della Santa A, De Rossi D (1999) Conducting polymer actuators properties and modeling. In Osada Y, De Rossi D (eds) Polymer sensors and actuators. Springer, Heidelberg, pp 207-244... 

Kara S, Zama T, Takashima W, Kaneto K (2006) Tris(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)methide-doped polypyrrole as a conducting polymer actuator with large electrochemical strain. Synth Met 156 351... 

Figure 15.1 Conducting-polymer actuation based upon bending of a bilayer or trIlayer actuator in which S-SO-jim-thick polymer layers are typically grown on a metal-coated Inert support the linear stretching of a free-standing film, of several mm to cm in length and the out-of-plane actuation of conducting-polymer films...

It needs to be stressed that the performance of conducting-polymer actuators is heavily dependent upon their conditions of preparation, in that the quality of the films, including factors such as chain alignment and polymer density, can be readily altered as electropolymerization conditions are varied. Several synthetic conditions relevant to conducting-polymer nanostructure are included below. 

Nanostructural Aspects of Conducting-Polymer Actuators 6tt5 15.3.1 Modelling of Conducting-Polymer Actuation... 

Research groups at Wollongong, Australia, have examined a number of conducting-polymer performance criteria, such as the energy output (work) for different actuator geometries, and the way the strain typically decreases as the force under operation is increased. Part of the explanation for the behavior of conducting-polymer actuators can be... 

Conducting-polymer actuators have been developed for several applications by the Wollongong group [9]. These include the use of bUayer PPy actuators in a cochlear ear implant [85]. Hollow-tube actuators with helical wire interconnects have also been developed for use in an electronic Braille screen [39]. A trilayer actuator valve has been included in a combined sensor-actuator system to control a gas valve inlet for food... 

Figure 15.10 SEM images PPy films doped with TFSI anions and prepared on (A) a glassy carbon electrode and (B) on a Pt electrode. The electrode side (with a macroporous morphology on Pt) is shown on the left in each case, and the solution side on the right. (Reprinted with permission from Synthetic Metals, Tris(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)methide-doped polypyrrole as a conducting polymer actuator with large electrochemical strain by S. Hara, T. Zama, W. Takashima and K. Kaneto 156, 2-4, 351-355. Copyright (2006) Elsevier Ltd)...

H.-R. Kang and N.-J. Jo, Solid-state conducting polymer actuator based on electrochemically-deposited polypyrrole and solid polymer electrolyte. High Perform. Polym., 18 (5), 665-678 (2006). 

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