Enhanced Electromechanical Performance of Graphene Oxide-Nafion Nanocomposite Actuator

We report for the first time the fabrication of the graphene oxide (GO)-Nafion actuators with carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as electrodes. The exfoliated GO was homogeneously dispersed in the Nafion matrix with doping level of 0.5−10 wt %. CNT electrodes on both sides of the membrane were made by dip-coating method; that is, the composites membranes were first emerged into the CNT-Nafion dimethylformamide (DMF) solution and then pulled out to dry. The as-prepared GO-Nafion actuators were tested in terms of conductivity, bulk and surface morphology, tip displacement, and blocked force. The results demonstrated that the electrochemical behavior of the polymer nanocomposite was significantly improved because of the efficient distribution of the high aspect ratio GO sheets, and the blocking force of the nanocomposite actuator with doping level 10 wt % is 4 times that of the virgin nafion, and the displacement is nearly 2 times that of nafion.