Toward a new generation of electrically controllable hygromorphic soft actuators

Silvia Taccola, Francesco Greco, Edoardo Sinibaldi, Alessio Mondini, Barbara Mazzolai, Virgilio Mattoli

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

A double-layered, anisotropic humidity-driven actuator based on an ultrathin active layer of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) and a passive layer composed of poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) was reported, with intrinsic sensing capability, and able to be controlled both by joule effect or directly by environmental humidity variations. After each deposition step, the samples were placed on a hot plate in ambient air for 5 min at 170°C and air plasma treated at 5 W for 10s. Finally, the samples were subjected to a thermal treatment. A direct write CO2 laser with tunable laser power, speed, and resolution was then used to cut and pattern the samples, making it feasible to fabricate a wide range of soft actuator designs and configurations. To provide the electrical input voltage to the material, gold electrodes were added to the surfaces of the actuators. Thickness measurements were performed using a P-6 stylus profilometer. The adopted processing strategy, which consists of a few steps of spin coating, direct laser cutting, and patterning, is particularly appealing because it enables rapid and simple fabrication to test soft actuators with more complex designs.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1668-1675
Number of pages8
JournalAdvanced Materials
Volume27
Issue number10
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2015
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Materials Science(all)
  • Mechanics of Materials
  • Mechanical Engineering

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Toward a new generation of electrically controllable hygromorphic soft actuators'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this