04 January, 2016
Jian Zhou, Matthieu Mulle, Yaobin Zhang, Xuezhu Xu, Er Qiang Li, Fei Han, Sigurdur T.Thoroddsen and Gilles Lubineau(2016) High-ampacity conductive polymer microfibers as fast response wearable heaters and electromechanical actuators.Accepted for publication in Journal of Materials Chemistry C.
Abstract:
Conductive fibers with enhanced physical properties and functionalities are needed for a diversity of electronic devices. Here, we report very high performance in the thermal and mechanical response of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)/poly(styrenesulfonate)
(PEDOT/PSS) microfibers when subjected to an electrical current. These fibers were made by combining hot-drawing assisted wetspinning process with ethylene glycol doping/de-doping can work at a high current density as high as 1:8 104 A cm2, which
is comparable to that of carbon nanotube fibers. Their electrothermal response was investigated using optical sensors and verified to be as fast as 63 C s1 and is comparable with that of metallic heating elements. We investigated the electromechanical
actuation resulted from the reversible sorption/desorption of moisture controlled by electro-induced heating. Results revealed an improvement of several orders of magnitudes compared to other linear conductive polymer-based actuators in air. Specifically,
the fibers we designed here have a rapid stress generation rate and a wide operating frequency range (up to 40 Hz). These fibers have several characteristics including fast response, low-driven voltage, good repeatability, long cycle life and high
energy efficiency, favoring their use as heating elements on wearable textiles and as artificial muscles for robotics.