Study on the actuation characteristics of a graphene oxide-modified biological gel electroactive actuator

To overcome the poor conductivity of electrode film in bio-gel electroactive actuator, graphene was introduced into its structure to prepare a kind of bio-gel electroactive actuator based on chitosan, and its actuation characteristics were analyzed. First of all, the output characteristics of the electroactive actuator prepared with the addition of graphene oxide （GO）were tested to obtain the variation patterns of bending force and displacement. Second, electrochemical and microscopic tests were carried out and the water retention rate was analyzed to explore the internal reasons for the improvement of output characteristics. Third, how the mass fraction of GO influences the polymer electroactive actuator's bending force performance was comprehensively analyzed. The results show that adding GO significantly improved the electroactive actuator's performance. Adding graphene oxide into the polymer actuator was proved to be an effective strategy to improve the actuator's actuation properties.