Effect of mold assemblies-induced interfaces in the mechanical actuation of electro-responsive ionic liquid-based polycationic hydrogels

Electroactive Polymers Obtained by Conventional and Non-Conventional Technologies

“…Ionic EAPs are commonly composed of a polymeric network (neutral or a polyelectrolyte matrix) loaded/soaked with electrolytes (including ionic liquids (ILs)) and/or carbon nanotubes (CNTs). Examples of this class of actuator include: conducting polymer actuators [ 9 , 12 ], ionic-polymer metal composite (IPMC) actuators [ 13 , 14 ] and CNT actuators [ 15 , 16 ].…”

“…PILs/IL-based polymers conjugate the properties of the ionic liquids (e.g., ionic conductivity, negligible vapor pressure, and thermal stability) with those from polymers (e.g., functionalization, viscoelastic properties, and 3D structure) [ 50 ]. Recently, IL-based copolymers ionic EAPs were developed for soft actuators and promising tissue engineering scaffolds applications [ 12 , 51 ].…”

“…Kanaan et al evaluated mold assemblies-induced interfaces in the electromechanical actuation performance in the developed IL-based polycationic hydrogels [ 12 ]. Crosslinked soft actuators reinforced with silica nanoparticles were prepared by free-radical copolymerization of 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA, 9.27 mmol) with 1-butyl-3-vinylimidazolium chloride (BVImCl, 3.10 mmol) in an aqueous solution containing the crosslinker N,N’-methylenebis(acrylamide) (MBA, 0.5 mol% of total monomers) and MCM-41 silica nanoparticles (0.4 w / w % of total monomers).…”

“…The durability of T-T hydrogels was evaluated for at least 24 h where its actuating response was consistently maintained during experiments. Finally, electromechanical actuation performance was not significantly influenced by the media’s pH (comparing the results obtained for deionized water with acidic/alkaline aqueous media) since IL-based polyelectrolyte hydrogels do not present ionizable groups along with its polymeric network [ 12 ].…”

“… Illustration of T-T hydrogel actuation response under 100 V ( A ), and bending angles at the different applied electrical stimulus for T-T (white columns) and T-G (grey columns) IL-based polycationic hydrogels ( B ). Experiments were conducted in deionized water at room temperature (~22 °C) [ 12 ]. Reproduced with permission from Elsevier.…”