Construction and coulodynamic characterization of PPy-DBS-MWCNT/tape bilayer artificial muscles

Polypyrrole-dodecylbenzenesulphonate-multi-walled carbon nanotube (PPy-DBS-MWCNT) films, thick enough (48.6 μm) to be peeled off from the steel electrode, were electrogenerated. Bilayer PPy-DBS-MWCNT/tape artificial muscles were constructed and submitted to potential sweeps with parallel video-recording of their angular displacements. The coulodynamic (angle–charge) responses reveal that the composite shrinks/swells by oxidation/reduction, respectively, due to the reaction-driven cation exchange. Reversible bending movements of 106° occur under faradaic (linear) control of the consumed charge. Minor deviations and hysteresis were identified with irreversible reactions and osmotic processes. The muscle is a faradaic motor.