The effects of Li salts on the performance of a polymer actuator based on single-walled carbon nanotube-ionic liquid gel

✍ Scribed by Naohiro Terasawa; Ichiroh Takeuchi; Ken Mukai; Kinji Asaka

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 2010
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 579 KB
• Volume: 51
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0032-3861
• DOI: 10.1016/j.polymer.2010.05.046

✦ Synopsis

The effects of Li salts (Lithium tetrafluoroborate (Li[BF 4 ]) and Lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (Li[TFSI])) on the electrochemical and electromechanical properties of an actuator using a polymersupported single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT)-ionic liquid (IL) gel electrode were investigated. The ionic conductivities of the gel electrolyte layers with molar ratios of Li[BF 4 ]/1-ethlyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (EMI[BF 4 ]) ¼ 0.1 and 0.5, and Li[TFSI]/1-ethlyl-3-methylimidazolium bis (trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (EMI[TFSI]) ¼ 0.1 and 0.3 were higher than those containing only EMI [BF 4 ] and only EMI[TFSI], respectively. We found a large capacitance value 65e96 F/g at a slow sweep rate 1 mV s À1 . The actuator containing Li salt/IL performed much better than that containing only IL. It is considered that the higher ionic conductivity of the gel electrolyte layer containing Li salt/IL produces the quick response actuator, and that the large capacitance gives a large generated strain.