A Solvent Molecule Driven Pure PEDOT:PSS Actuator

Actuators which mechanically respond to various external stimuli are promising for diverse applications including soft robots, energy generators, artificial muscles, and sensors. Herein, a PEDOT:PSS film based vapor-driven soft actuator by using H₂SO₄ treated process is presented. This actuator exhibits rapid (0.24 s for one actuation) and robust (>1000 times without obvious fatigue) responses to stimuli of various organic solvents with reversible large-shape deformations. By coating gold on the one side of the PEDOT:PSS film with subsequent generation of specific patterns, the designed bilayer-structured actuator achieves controllable actuation including vertical and helical bending. Furthermore, a walking robot and a vapor-driven generator are successfully constructed with remarkable performances upon vapor stimuli using the proposed PEDOT:PSS film based actuator. The achievement presented here opens a new avenue for a new generation of robots and smart sensors.