Fully plastic actuator based on multi-walled carbon nanotubes bucky gel

Carbon nanotubes have electrical and mechanical properties that make them highly attractive for actuators. They have the ability to deform elastically by several percent, thus storing very large amounts of energy, thanks to their crystalline nature and to their morphology. We investigate the performance of a bimorph actuator composed of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), polyvinylidene difluoride (PVdF) and the ionic liquid (IL) 1-butyl 3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate [BMIM][BF₄] with a polymer-supported internal ionic liquid electrolyte. Electrochemical characterizations by cyclic voltammetry (CV) linear sweep voltammetry (LSV), and actuation tests performed applying a square wave of 4 Volt peak-to-peak at frequencies between 0.3 Hz and 2 Hz are reported and discussed.