Park M, Chun Y, Kim S, Sohn KY, Jeon M. Effects of Hexagonal Boron Nitride Insulating Layers on the Driving Performance of Ionic Electroactive Polymer Actuators for Light-Weight Artificial Muscles.
Int J Mol Sci 2022;
23:4981. [PMID:
35563372 PMCID:
PMC9101070 DOI:
10.3390/ijms23094981]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2022] [Revised: 04/28/2022] [Accepted: 04/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/07/2022] Open
Abstract
To improve the energy efficiency and driving performance of ionic electroactive polymer actuators, we propose inserting insulating layers of 170 nm hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) particles between the ionic polymer membrane and electrodes. In experiments, actuators exhibited better capacitance (4.020 × 10-1 F), displacement (6.01 mm), and curvature (35.59 m-1) with such layers than without them. The excellent insulating properties and uniform morphology of the layers reduced the interfacial resistance, and the ion conductivity (0.071 S m-1) within the ionic polymer improved significantly. Durability was enhanced because the h-BN layer is chemically and thermally stable and efficiently blocks heat diffusion and ion hydrate evaporation during operation. The results demonstrate a close relationship between the capacitance and driving performance of actuators. A gripper prepared from the proposed ionic electroactive polymer actuator can stably hold an object even under strong external vibration and fast or slow movement.
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