In this study, “three-dimensional structure” nanohybrid particle (SiO2-GO) were synthesized by in situ hydrolysis and composited with perfluorosulfonic acid (PFSA) to increase the water uptake (WUP) and ion exchange capacity (IEC) of the cast membranes. Ionic polymer metal composite (IPMC) soft actuators were fabricated based on the cast pure PFSA, GO/PFSA and SiO2-GO/PFSA membranes. The morphology and properties of IPMC were researched, and the relationship between them was analyzed in this article. The mechanism of SiO2-GO particles enhancing the properties of IPMC was revealed. The effects of incorporating GO and SiO2-GO on IPMC actuators were analyzed using physicochemical and electromechanical measurements comparing with the corresponding behavior of pure PFSA-based IPMC actuators. Morphology of IPMC showed effective incorporation of GO and SiO2-GO and clarified the dependency of Pt interface electrode on the SiO2-GO content of the PFSA membranes. The addition of SiO2-GO increased dramatically the WUP and IEC of the PFSA membranes and autuation performance of the IPMC actuators. The IPMC with 1 wt% SiO2-GO showed superb properties. The displacement of 1 wt% SiO2-GO under 3V AC voltage reached 28.4 mm, which is 3.2 times higher than that of the pure PFSA. The maximum displacement under DC voltage reached 44.7 mm (5.5V), and the blocking force reached 43.2mN (5V), which increased respectively 1.1 times and 2 times.

As a kind of flexible intelligent driving material, ionic polymer–metal composite (IPMC) has attracted the attention of researchers due to its advantages of lightweight, large deformation, and fast response. However, the reciprocating bending of IPMC causes cracks to appear on the surface metal electrode layer and reduces the water uptake (WUP). At the same time, the metal particles are extruded, resulting in an increase in resistivity, which affects the driving performance of the materials. Therefore, in this study, considering the preparation cost, Cu-Pt-IPMC using Pt and Cu as a composite electrode with the self-healing system was prepared by electroless plating and Cu 2+ was used as driving ions that can form a reversible circulation system with a copper electrode. The WUP, surface resistivity, and driving performance were tested and analyzed and the surface roughness was characterized by Matlab. The results show that the dendritic interface electrodes (DIEs) appear at the contact interface between the metal electrode and the film, which extend deeper and wider in the film with the increase in the cycles of autocatalytic platinum plating (ACP-Pt), and the output displacement and blocking force of 61.20 mm and 34.26 mN, respectively, have been achieved in the Cu-Pt-IPMC sample after three cycles of ACP-Pt. Based on these analyses, this study proves that the presence of Cu 2+ can repair the cracked electrode on the surface of IPMC and reduce the surface electrode resistance, improving the driving performance.

Ionic Polymer-Metal Composite (IPMC) is a new type of artificial muscle material. It is often used as the driver of bionic micro animals and plants because of its low driving voltage, large deformation and high sensitivity. The Water Uptake (WUP) of IPMC is an important factor affecting its driving performance. Considering this, a series of porous IPMCs with different content of nano Fe3O4 were prepared by particle leaching and electroless plating. Owing to the existence of a porous structure, the transportation channels of water molecules are greatly increased, which improves the WUP and driving performance of the IPMC. Combined with the inspiration of the stoma’s natural plant body structure, porous IPMC (P-IPMC) was applied to the bionic Venus flytrap actuator. The experimental results show that when the nano Fe3O4 content is between 0.1wt% and 0.5wt%, the performance of P-IPMC is better than that of Non-Porous IPMC (NP-IPMC). From the performance response of the Non-Porous Venus Flytrap (NP-VF) and Porous Venus Flytrap (P-VF) actuators, P-VF can meet the requirements of a similar shape and motion state to the natural flytrap at a voltage value of 4 V, which is better than the driving performance of NP-VF. This paper lays a foundation for the improvement of driving performance and the diversified use of IPMC.