Design, fabrication and characterization of polypyrrole trilayer actuators

Abstract

Conducting polymers are currently studied as artificial muscle materials. They are used instead of traditional actuators because they mimic the movements of animal muscles. They can generate larger active stresses than real muscles as well as generate small strains which can be amplified to cause larger motions. Traditionally, conductive polymers are immersed in liquid electrolytes. Utilizing a trilayer configuration by sandwiching the ions between two strips of polypyrrole films can be actuated in air. This thesis compares two methods of constructing polypyrrole trilayers: an electrolyte gel method and a gold coated PVDF membrane method. It will discuss the construction processes as well as properties of resulting trilayers by looking at force production, strain rate, etc.