Electrochemical actuator based on single-layer polypyrrole film

Polypyrrole film with porous and compact zones in its vertical direction has been synthesized by direct oxidation of pyrrole in the mixed solvent of acetonitrile and dichloromethane contained a certain amount of anion surfactant of sodium 1,4-bis(2-ethylhexyl)sulfosuccinate (AOT). The actuator based on this single-layer film bends uniformly with the maximum bending angle much larger than 90° and has a fast response rate (∼60° s−1 at 1.0 V versus SCE) and a long lifetime (>20,000 cycles). The high performance of this actuator is mainly due to that the PPy film has a high conductivity and the actuator does not have delamination problem.