Carbon nanotubes acting like actuators Original Research Article

The direct conversion of electrical energy into mechanical energy is crucial for a number of high-technology applications. Macroscopic sheets of single-walled carbon nanotubes, working under physiological conditions (in salt water for example) and low voltage, have shown comparable or superior performances than natural muscle. Specific characteristics of single or nanotube bundles allows one to expect even greater intrinsic properties for nano and micro actuator devices based on one or a few hundred nanotubes.