Electrochemomechanical deformation (ECMD) of PPyDBS in free standing film formation and trilayer designs

摘要

An investigation is reported into the electrochemomechanical deformation (ECMD) of polypyrrole (PPy) doped with dodecylbenzenesulfonate (DBS) in the form of freestanding films and deposited onto conductive substrates (chemically fixed poly-3,4-(ethylenedioxythiophene, PEDOT) based on PVdF (poly(vinylidenefluoride)). Linear actuation has been achieved starting from a trilayer bending actuator design with a stretchable middle layer. To allow evaluation of the proposed design, commercially available PVdF membranes were chosen as model material. For bending trilayer functionality, electronic separation of both electrode layers is essential, but in order to obtain linear actuation, the CP layers on either side are connected to form a single working electrode. The PPyDBS free standing films and PPyDBS deposited on PEDOT-PVdF-PEDOT were investigated by electrochemical methods (cyclic voltammetry, square wave potentials) in a 4-methyl-1,3-dioxolan-2-one (propylene carbonate, PC) solution of tetrabutylammonium trifluoromethanesulfonate (TBACF_3SO_3). This study also presents a novel method of utilizing scanning ion-conductance microscopy (SICM) to accurately examine the electrochemical redox behavior of the surface layer of the linear actuator using a micropipette tip.