Electrochromic artificial muscles based on nanoporous metal-polymer composites

This work shows that a nano-coating of electrochromic polymer grown onto the ligaments of nanoporous gold causes reversible dimensional and color changes during electrochemical actuation. This combination of electromechanical and optical properties opens additional avenues for the applications of artificial muscles, i.e., a metallic muscle exhibits its progress during work by changing color that can be detected by optical means. (C) 2013 AIP Publishing LLC