Preparation and electroactuation of water-based polyurethane-based polyaniline conductive composites

Abstract

Ionic polymer-based conductive composite is a new type of ionic electroactive polymer smart material, which is composed of two electrodes, the ion-exchange polymer matrix film and the polymer surface and is a three-layer sandwich structure. The conductive composite material has the advantages of flexibility, portability, and biocompatibility, which has attracted a large number of researchers to study it in the fields of biomimetic flexible actuators and biomedical materials, but the conventional matrix film has the disadvantage of high preparation cost. In this study, using sulfonated waterborne polyurethane membrane as matrix membrane and aniline as monomer, polyaniline (PANI) was synthesized by in situ oxidation polymerization reaction, and the conductive composites with PANI as electrode were prepared. After applying alternating current electric field, a new brake with PANI as electrode is obtained. A low-frequency signal generator was used to study the electromechanical properties of the prepared materials. The results show that the waterborne polyurethane/PANI composite film produces a continuous and stable driving performance at 0.2 Hz and 20 V, and the maximum output displacement of the terminal is 40 mm. When the driving voltage and frequency are changed, the displacement output also changes, showing a good controllable performance. Its structure and morphology were characterized.

Keywords

• electroactive polymer
• sulfonation
• ion-exchange membrane
• electric brake
• polyaniline