Ionic polymer metal composites actuators with enhanced driving performance by incorporating graphene quantum dots

Abstract

In order to further improve the driving performance of ionic polymer metal composites (IPMCs), Nafion/graphene quantum dots (GQDs) hybrid membranes incorporating GQDs with various contents of 0, 0.1 wt.%, 0.5 wt.%, 1.0 wt.%, 2.0 wt.% and 4.0 wt.% were fabricated by solution casting, and then IPMCs were manufactured by electroless plating. The water contents and elastic moduli of the hybrid membranes were tested. The morphology characteristics of the hybrid membranes and the IPMCs were observed, and the current, AC impedance, blocking force and displacement of the IPMCs were measured. The results show that the elastic modulus of the hybrid membranes decreases, the water content increases, and the actuation performance of the IPMCs improves significantly after the addition of GQDs. IPMC with 1.0 wt.% GQDs exhibits the best driving property. Compared with the IPMC without GQDs, the working current, ion conductivity, blocking force, and tip displacement increase by 94.67%, 311.11%, 53.66%, and 66.07%, respectively. These results lay a solid foundation for the preparation of IPMCs with high performance, and further broaden their applications in biomedical devices and bionic robots.

Keywords

graphene quantum dots / hybrid membrane / ionic polymer metal composites / actuation performance

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