All polymer‐based transparent composites for electrothermal actuator and supercapacitor

Abstract

AbstractWith the rapid development of smart devices, multifunctional integrated systems are greatly developed. Although several multifunctional devices integrated with functions of actuation, sensing, and energy storage have been successfully fabricated, most of these integrated multifunctional systems are opaque. Here, all polymer‐based transparent composites are proposed for the electrothermal actuator, supercapacitor, and intelligent integrated electronic system. The transmittances of the polyaniline@poly(3, 4‐ethylene dioxythiophene): poly(styrenesulfonate)/polyethylene terephthalate/polyethylene hierarchical composites with transmittance over 40% are prepared by the facile method of in‐situ polymerization and “cut‐paste” process, which can be directly used as transparent actuators as well as electrodes for transparent supercapacitors. The transparent actuator exhibits large bending deformation (>0.8 cm−1) and long‐term repeatability under electrical stimulation. Also, the transparent supercapacitor presents a high areal capacitance of 9.9 mF cm−2 and excellent cycling stability. Due to the above advantages, a series of practical applications are designed, such as biomimetic transparent grippers, flexible supercapacitor arrays, and so forth. Finally, an intelligent integrated electronic system with intelligent electrical‐controlled switches and supercapacitor arrays is successfully constructed to demonstrate the practical application of functional polymer film in smart devices.