Increasing the maximum strain and efficiency of bucky gel actuators by pyrrole oxidative polymerization on carbon nanotubes dispersed in an ionic liquid

Oxidative polymerization of pyrrole directly on preformed bucky gel slurry was carried out in order to combine the remarkable properties of ionic actuators based on carbon nanotubes and polypyrrole. Bimorph solid state ionic actuators were prepared with this novel hybrid material and compared with classical bucky gel actuators. A small amount of polypyrrole is sufficient to dramatically improve the overall actuator performance. The maximum strain is five times larger than the one of actuators prepared only with carbon nanotubes. Moreover, for the same applied charge, the strain generated increases up to twenty-five times. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.