The Electrochemical Actuation Performances of Nanoporous Ternary AlCoCu Alloy with a Unique Nanosheet Structure
Xiao Chen,
Fuquan Tan,
Jianfeng Wang,
Kunpeng Zhao,
Yaoguang Wang,
Jie Zhang,
Haixia Liu
Affiliations
Xiao Chen
Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Qilu University of Technology (Shandong Academy of Sciences), Jinan 250353, China
Fuquan Tan
Key Laboratory for Liquid-Solid Structural Evolution and Processing of Materials (Ministry of Education), School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shandong University, Jingshi Road 17923, Jinan 250061, China
Jianfeng Wang
Key Laboratory for Liquid-Solid Structural Evolution and Processing of Materials (Ministry of Education), School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shandong University, Jingshi Road 17923, Jinan 250061, China
Kunpeng Zhao
Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Qilu University of Technology (Shandong Academy of Sciences), Jinan 250353, China
Yaoguang Wang
Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Qilu University of Technology (Shandong Academy of Sciences), Jinan 250353, China
Jie Zhang
Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Qilu University of Technology (Shandong Academy of Sciences), Jinan 250353, China
Haixia Liu
Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Qilu University of Technology (Shandong Academy of Sciences), Jinan 250353, China
Compared to traditional actuators (such as piezoelectric ceramics), metal actuators possess the advantages of a low energy consumption, large strain amplitude, and high strain energy density. However, most of the existing metal actuators with an excellent comprehensive performance are composed of precious metals, which are limited by high costs and have almost no possibility for large-scale production in the future. This study focuses on non-precious metal materials and exploits a one-step chemical dealloying method to prepare bulk nanoporous (NP) CoCuAl actuators (NP-CCA) from Al70Co20Cu10 alloy. The microstructure and actuation properties of the NP-CCA were analyzed in detail. The dense continuous nanoscale pores provide an excellent network connectivity for a large strain response, enabling the NP-CCA to achieve a strain amplitude of up to 1.19% (more than eight and two times that of NP-Pt and NP-Ag, respectively), comparable to precious metal actuators. In addition, the NP-CCA possesses a high strain energy density, which is prominent in many precious metal actuation materials (such as NP-Au, NP-Ag, and NP-Pt).
