High-Performance Ionic-Polymer–Metal Composite: Toward Large-Deformation Fast-Response Artificial Muscles

As promising candidates in the field of artificial muscles, ionic-polymer–metal composites (IPMCs) still cannot simultaneously provide large deformations and fast responses, which has limited their practical applications. In this study, to overcome this issue, a Nafion-based IPMC with high-quality metal electrodes is fabricated via novel isopropanol-assisted electroless plating. The IPMC exhibits a large tip displacement (35.3 mm, 102.3°) under a low direct-current driving voltage and ultrafast response (>10 Hz) under an alternating-current (AC) voltage. Furthermore, the simultaneous integration of a large deformation and fast response can be achieved by the IPMC under a high-frequency (19 Hz) AC voltage, where the largest bending amplitude is 5.9 mm and the highest bending speed reaches 224.2 mm s −1 (596.2° s −1 ). Additionally, the lightweight IPMC exhibits a decent load capacity and can lift objects 20 times heavier. The outstanding performances of the Nafion IPMC are demonstrated by mimicking biological motions such as petal opening/closing, tendril coiling/uncoiling, and high-frequency wing flapping. This study paves the way for the fabrication of lightweight actuators with simultaneous large displacements and fast responses for promising applications in biomedical devices and bioinspired robotics.