PEDOT:PSS/Bacterial Cellulose-based soft actuator under triangle and square wave: Deflection, response and fidelity

Poly(3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) is a preferred conducting polymer owing to its high conductivity and processability. PEDOT: PSS on the application of a potential bias can transact ions with surrounding electrolyte causing a volume change. This reversible volume change is exploited to prepare a bilayer actuator with bacterial cellulose as the substrate. The actuation response is compared for two waveforms – square wave and triangular wave. A large deflection of 5.2 mm per voltage applied was observed for the square wave with a maximum voltage of 1.5 V and a dwell time of 20 s. An in-house developed method based on a smartphone camera was used to track and measure the deflection. Effect of voltage and frequency are also reported to get insights into the mechanism of actuation. This electro-chemo-mechanical soft actuator can have potential applications in biomimetic soft robotics. © 202