Fabrication and characterizations of electro-mechanical actuators based on fullerene-reinforced biocompatible polymer

Abstract

Fullerenes have been extensively investigated in biomedical and material science, owing to their distinct physic-chemical properties. At this juncture, we validated the improved electro-mechanical actuation of Fullerene-reinforced sulfonated polyetherimide (SPEI) as a novel electromechanical actuator. In the specific, tiny amount of Fullerene (0.5 wt%) reinforced in the SPEI matrix, the bending distortion of the Fullerene-SPEI actuators is tripled. As-prepared actuators showed excellent proton conductivity, substantial mechanical strength, high dielectric constant and blocking force, and exhibited large bending motion under harmonic and step responses. Moreover, the biocompatibility of Fullerenes and SPEI makes these actuators as auspicious candidates in biomedical devices, robotics, and smart textiles.