Electroactive composite structures

One option to develop artificial muscles is the use of electroactive polymers (EAPs) or electroactive composite structures based on polymers. These materials or stmctures are able to convert electrical energy into mechanical energy. Different types of materials and stmctores with different properties are explored for many applications (Bar-Cohen, 2004). 

Obtaining information on the composition, structure, etc., of solid materials using voltammetric and related techniques can be performed by (1) recording the response of the material attached to an inert electrode and immersed into a suitable electrolyte or (2) recording the modification of the response of an electroactive probe in the electrolyte solution in contact with the material-modified electrode. In addition, the electrochemical response of such systems under the application of optical or magnetic inputs can also be used. 

M. Malta, G. Louam, N. Errien, and R. M. Torresi, Nanofibers composite vanadium oxide/ polyaniline synthesis and characterization of an electroactive anisotropic structure, Electrochem. Commun., 5, 1011-1015 (2003). 

The composition of the DSPCF complex with heavy rare earths was determined by spectrophotometry to be Ln< (H20)2, which has no electroactivity. The structural formulas of H2 and Ln (H20)2 are... 

If we look at the mechanistic and crystallographic aspects of the operation of polycomponent electrodes, we see that the incorporation of electroactive species such as lithium into a crystalline electrode can occur in two basic ways. In the examples discussed above, and in which complete equilibrium is assumed, the introduction of the guest species can either involve a simple change in the composition of an existing phase by solid solution, or it can result in the formation of new phases with different crystal structures from that of the initial host material. When the identity and/or amounts of phases present in the electrode change, the process is described as a reconstitution reaction. That is, the microstructure is reconstituted. 

Recently, we (82) and others (82-84) have shown that similar hetero-structures can be prepared by using two-dimensional inorganic sheets (made by exfoliation of various lamellar solids) in place of the organic polyanion. This technique offers a potentially powerful alternative to the construction of multi-component electron transfer systems, because it can, in principle, be used to stack up an arbitrary number of redox-active polymers without interpenetration (85). This chapter describes the preparation and photochemistry of simple multilayer composites on high-surface-area silica. Specifically, the synthesis and electron transfer kinetics of systems containing a polycationic sensitizer, poly-[Ru(bpy)2(vbpy)(Cl)2] (1), (abbreviated [Ru(bpy)3 ]n bpy = 2,2 -bipytidine and vbpy = 4-vinyl-4 -methyl-2,2 -bipyridine), and an electron-acceptor polycation poly[(styrene-co-]V-vinylbenzyl-N -methyl-4,4 -bipyridine)(Cl)2] (2), (PS-MV ) are presented. Using a solution-phase electron donor, 3, as the third electroactive component, it was possible to prepare and study the photoinduced electron transfer reactions of several different diad and triad combinations. 

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