Nanoactuators

A NANOACTUATOR BASED ON CARBON NANOTUBE NEW METHOD OF CONTROL... 

Continued advances in silicon nanoelectronics and beyond will enable developments in adaptive and reconfigurable devices. To enable energy-efficient operation, low-power and low-noise electronics are needed for novel network architectures and advanced systems that incorporate novel nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS), nanosensors, and nanoactuators. 

Moya S, Azzaroni O, Farhan T, Osborne VL, Huck WTS. Locking and unlocking of polyelectrolyte brushes toward the fabrication of chemically controlled nanoactuators. Angew Chem Int Ed 2005 44(29) 4578-81. 

Other applications of single CPNWs include nanodiodes and nanoactuators. For example, a single Au-PPY-Cd-Au nanowire could be formed as a nanodiode after a Schottky junction was formed at the PPY/Cd interface and an ohmic junction was formed at the PPY/Au interface (Figure 10.58) [47]. An array of parallel PP Y nanowires was used as a nanoactuator as the mechanical function was derived from the expansion and contraction of the PPY nanowires caused by the movement of ions into and out of the polymer matrix in an aqueous eletrolyte during electrically controlled reversible reduction and oxidation [122]. 

Design of Biomimetic Micro-/Nanoactuator Using Self-Oscillating Polymer and Cel... 

The examples of DNA-based nanoactuators reviewed here demonstrate a wide variety of approaches and strategies for incorporation of controllable motions into DNA-based supramolecular complexes. This type of switchable molecular assembly will likely find future use in combination with other nanomaterials such as carbon nanotubes, metallic and semiconducting nanoparticles, and other electrically active components for construction of nanoelectronics for sensors applications, as one possible example. 

Shahinpoor, M. (2005) Smart Ionic Polymer Conductor Composite Materials as Multifunctional Distributed Nanosensors, Nanoactuators and Artificial Muscles, Aw. Soc. Mech. Eng., Mat. Div. (Publication), MD, 485-9. 

Simmel EC. and Yurke B. 2001. Using DNA to construct and power a nanoactuator. Phys. Rev. E Stat. Nonlin. Soft Matter Phys. 63 041913. 

In addition, a variety of polymer composites with unique conductive and electric properties have been developed for skeletal muscle regeneration by combining polymers with metal nanoparticles (McKeon-Fischer and Freeman, 2011) and carbon nanombes (McKeon-Fischer et al., 2014). For example, McKeon-Fischer et al. (2011) has developed an electrospun scaffold through the combination of PCL with MWCNTs and a hydrogel consisting of polyvinyl alcohol and polyacrylic acid as a potential nanoactuator for skeletal muscle engineering. 

---