Electromechanical actuator using electro-deposited conducting polymer films/(a)/

Summary form only given. An electromechanical actuator has been fabricated with two pieces of polyaniline film, using the phenomenon that conducting polymers expand and contract during electrochemical oxidation and reduction, respectively. The polyaniline films were electrochemically deposited on both sides of Aucoated polyimide film (thickness of 25 /spl/mu/m) by either potential sweep or constant potentio/galvanostatic polymerization. This is a trilayer backbone-type actuator, viz., the polyimide film backbone is sandwiched between two polyaniline films. When immersed in 1M aqueous HCI, application of a potential of 0-+1.2 V between the films (1.5cm x 0.5 cm x 1-2 /mu/m) results in bending 0/spl deg/ to - 10/spl deg/. Electromechanical actuators using electrodeposited polythiophene films will also be described. Supported by in part by the U.S. Office of Naval Research.