Nature Communications 6, Article number:7258 doi:10.1038/ncomms8258
Published 01 June 2015
Ionic actuators have attracted attention due to their remarkably large strain under low-voltage stimulation. Because actuation performance is mainly dominated by the electrochemical and electromechanical processes of the electrode layer, the electrode material and structure are crucial. Here, we report a graphitic carbon nitride nanosheet electrode-based ionic actuator that displays high electrochemical activity and electromechanical conversion abilities, including large specific capacitance (259.4 F g−1) with ionic liquid as the electrolyte, fast actuation response (0.5±0.03% in 300 ms), large electromechanical strain (0.93±0.03%) and high actuation stability (100,000 cycles) under 3 V. The key to the high performance lies in the hierarchical pore structure with dominant size <2 nm, optimal pyridinic nitrogen active sites (6.78%) and effective conductivity (382 s m−1) of the electrode. Our study represents an important step towards artificial muscle technology in which heteroatom modulation in electrodes plays an important role in promoting electrochemical actuation performance.
http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2015/150601/ncomms8258/full/ncomms8258.html
