Electronically conducting polymer (ECP) actuators and sensors are ionic EAPs, whose working principle relies on the motion of ions, usually contained in an electrolyte, toward or from the electroactive polymer. We demonstrate here that linear deformation and sensing in open-air are accessible for ionic EAPs if classical trilayer devices are made electromechanically asymmetric by tuning the properties of PEDOT:PSS electrodes according to an electromechanical model. We also present the first results on “dry” ionic conducting membranes based on polymeric ionic liquids. This “dry” electrolyte allows developing ionic EAPs without any liquid component and still presenting large and fast bending deformation
Ionic electro-active polymers (EAP) are promising materials for actuation and sensing. In order to operate in open-air, they are usually built in a trilayer configuration where the internal polymer membrane is soaked with an exogenous electrolyte and sandwiched between two electronic conducting polymer (ECP) layers. The use of exogenous electrolytes can be a limitation in several applications since it may lead to evaporation issues and leakage. Moreover, the soaking step, necessary to introduce the electrolyte in the device, can become tricky as soon as microdevices are considered. In this work we describe the synthesis and characterization of truly “all-solid-state” ionic actuators by using polymeric ionic liquids (PILs). PILs are a new class of polyelectrolytes presenting ionic liquid-like ions along their polymer backbone. First, ECP electrodes containing PIL are synthesized by vapor phase polymerization and their thickness and electronic conductivity are characterized. Then, electrodes and PIL-based membranes are assembled into a trilayer configuration as a proof of concept of solid-state ionic actuator. Under 1.75V, a strain difference about 1% is reached.
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