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[2017-Vol.14-Issue 3]Advanced Electro-active Dry Adhesive Actuated by an Artificial Muscle Constructed from an Ionic Polymer Metal Composite Reinforced with Nitrogen-doped Carbon Nanocages
Post: 2017-09-06 16:11  View:1977

Journal of Bionic Engineering

Volume 14, Issue 3, July 2017, Pages 567-578
Qingsong He1,2, Xu Yang1 , Zhongyuan Wang1,2, Jin Zhao3 , Min Yu1 , Zhen Hu3 , Zhendong Dai1 1.
1. Institute of Bio-inspired Structure and Surface Engineering, Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Bionic Functional Materials, College of Astronautics, Nanjing University of Aeronautics & Astronautics, Nanjing 210016, China
2. College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Nanjing University of Aeronautics & Astronautics, Nanjing 210016, China 3. Key Laboratory of Mesoscopic Chemistry of MOE, Jiangsu Provincial Lab for Nanotechnology, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China
 

Abstract

An advanced electro-active dry adhesive, which was composed of a mushroom-shaped fibrillar dry adhesive array actuated by an Ionic Polymer Metal Composite (IPMC) artificial muscle reinforced with nitrogen-doped carbon nanocages (NCNCs), was developed to imitate the actuation of a gecko's toe. The properties of the NCNC-reinforced Nafion membrane, the electro-mechanical properties of the NCNC-reinforced IPMC, and the related electro-active adhesion ability were investigated. The NCNCs were uniformly dispersed in the 0.1 wt% NCNC/Nafion membrane, and there was a seamless connection with no clear interface between the dry adhesive and the IPMC. Our 0.1 wt% NCNC/Nafion-IPMC actuator shows a displacement and force that are 1.6 – 2 times higher than those of the recast Nafion-IPMC. This is due to the increased water uptake (25.39%) and tensile strength (24.5 MPa) of the specific 3D hollow NCNC-reinforced Nafion membrane, as well as interactions between the NCNCs and the sulfonated groups of the Nafion. The NCNC/Nafion-IPMC was used to effectively actuate the mushroom-shaped dry adhesive. The normal adhesion forces were 7.85 mN, 12.1 mN, and 51.7 mN at sinusoidal voltages of 1.5 V, 2.5 V, and 3.5 V, respectively, at 0.1 Hz. Under the bionic leg trail, the normal and shear forces were approximately 713.5 mN (159 mN·cm−2) and 1256.6 mN (279 mN·cm−2), respectively, which satisfy the required adhesion. This new electro-active dry adhesive can be applied for active, distributed actuation and flexible grip in robots.

Keywords

electro-active dry adhesive
;bionic;ionic polymer metal composite;Nafion membrane
;carbon nanocage
 
 


Full text is available at http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1672652916604225

 

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