Tailoring conductive nanofiller alignment for high actuation strain and output force in electroactive polymers

Fengwan Zhao, Jie Zhang (), Hongmiao Tian, Ruiyao Zhu, Leyi Sun, Wencong Dou, Hansen Chen, Zuo-Guang Ye, Chenglin Yi () and Xiaoming Chen ()
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Fengwan Zhao: Xi’an Jiaotong University, Micro‑ and Nanotechnology Research Center, State Key Laboratory for Manufacturing Systems Engineering
Jie Zhang: Xi’an Jiaotong University, Electronic Materials Research Laboratory, Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education & International Center for Dielectric Research, School of Electronic Science and Engineering
Hongmiao Tian: Xi’an Jiaotong University, Micro‑ and Nanotechnology Research Center, State Key Laboratory for Manufacturing Systems Engineering
Ruiyao Zhu: Xi’an Jiaotong University, XJTU-POLIMI Joint School of Design and Innovation
Leyi Sun: Xi’an Jiaotong University, XJTU-POLIMI Joint School of Design and Innovation
Wencong Dou: Xi’an Jiaotong University, XJTU-POLIMI Joint School of Design and Innovation
Hansen Chen: Xi’an Jiaotong University, Micro‑ and Nanotechnology Research Center, State Key Laboratory for Manufacturing Systems Engineering
Zuo-Guang Ye: Simon Fraser University, Department of Chemistry and 4D LABS
Chenglin Yi: Northwestern Polytechnical University, School of Mechanical Engineering
Xiaoming Chen: Xi’an Jiaotong University, Micro‑ and Nanotechnology Research Center, State Key Laboratory for Manufacturing Systems Engineering

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-13

Abstract: Abstract An intrinsic conflict between high deformability and rigidity hinders the development of electroactive polymer (EAP)-based soft robots. Here, we employ an external electric field to align Al2O3-coated carbon nanotubes (Al2O3@CNTs) in a poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene-chlorotrifluoroethylene) (P(VDF-TrFE-CTFE)) matrix. Compared with pure P(VDF-TrFE-CTFE), the thickness strain of nanocomposites with horizontally and vertically aligned Al2O3@CNTs increases by 473% and 814%, respectively. It results in a high bending angle up to 215° for their actuator beams. Importantly, the horizontally aligned Al2O3@CNTs enhance the local stiffness via ‘face-enhanced effect’, yielding a high output force per unit volume (1.25 mN/mm3 at 30 V/μm). It is not only ~346% higher than pure P(VDF-TrFE-CTFE) but also higher than the reported ceramic actuators. Accordingly, the soft robots made by the designed nanocomposite actuators could climb slopes up to 52° and carry loads equivalent to eight times their body mass. Consequently, this modulating strategy develops a high-performance actuation for soft robots.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-65228-7

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