Abstract
Ionic-polymer metal composites (IPMCs) actuators show great potential for soft robots due to their large deformations and fast responses at low voltage. However, realizing large and stable deformation remains a challenge since the existence of back relaxation phenomena. Herein, we report high-performance IPMCs actuators fabricated via solution-casting and isopropanol-assisted electroless plating methods. The actuator exhibits extremely large bending deformation (125°) and ultrafast initial response speed (1.09 % s−1 bending strain rate) within one second of the start time under the DC voltage of 3 V. Furthermore, the actuator exhibits no significant back relaxation, even when it lifts objects 11 times heavier and holds up for more than 695 s. The outstanding properties of the actuator are demonstrated by various soft robots, including a guide-grapple robot and a microarchitecture for robotic metamaterials, and a finite element simulation approach is proposed to model the robotic metamaterials. This study offers a viable means for developing high-performance artificial muscles without back relaxation for promising applications in biomedical devices, robotic metamaterials, and soft robotics.
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