Yunsong Yan

In this thesis, I demonstrated the fabrication of electroactive IGMNs based on ionic conductive PAA-co-PAN network with embedded HNC by mean of SCBI. The production of cluster-assembled gold thin films (100 nm thick), inter-penetrating with the quasi-solid state electrolyte, enabled the manufacturing of elastic soft actuators provided with flexible electrodes having low surface electric resistance and large surface area for an effective charge storage. The electro-responsive properties of the materials are intermediate between that of IPMCs and bucky-gels. This feature is due to the synergistic effect of the quaternary ammonium TEA+ counter-ion and HNC on the transport ability and electrochemical characteristics of the functional nanocomposites. Both the organic cation and the inorganic nanostructures confer high ionic conductivity (0.35 mS/cm) and large double layer capacitance (30 μF/cm2) to the composites, by favoring the partial dissociation of the EmimBF4 ionic liquid incorporated in the structure (solvent molar uptake is 37%). The materials showed sensitivity to the applied electric field starting at 0.1 V and exhibited high-performance actuation in response to electrical stimuli at low voltages (up to 1.04% net strain at 5 V) and good durability in their frequency response (up to 76000 cycles at 2 V and 1 Hz). The manufacturing process adopted for the actuators fabrication is cost-effective and suitable for mass production. The novel IGMNs presented here represent a forefront technological solution for the development of smart flexible components suitable for the manufacturing of soft bio-mimetic robots, deformable electronic and haptic systems, and wearable biomedical devices.