Electro-Mechanical Actuation of Carbon Nanotube Yarns, Sheets, Composites

We report preparation of highly conductive carbon nanotube yarns and sheets. The materials aim at such applications as electronic textiles, electro-mechanical actuators, and conductive coatings. The electro-mechanical response of the specimens was measured using custom made force transducer operating in an isometric mode. The measurements were carried out at room temperature in aqueous and organic electrolytes; square-wave potential of variable amplitude was applied with a potentiostat. It was found that the maximum isometric stress generated by nanotube actuators could be as large as 12 MPa. This approaches the stress generation capability of commercial ferroelectrics and is significantly larger than that of natural muscles. A variety of applications of the materials is discussed.