Chitosan-based polymer gel paper actuators coated with multi-wall carbon nanotubes and MnO₂ composite electrode

In this work, MCNT/MnO₂ composite electrode actuators were fabricated by ultrasonic oscillating adsorption of MnO₂ on both sides of the MCNT coated chitosan membrane. Elemental composition determined by an energy-dispersive spectrometer showed that the doping MnO₂ was successfully adsorbed on the surface of MCNT. Surface morphologies of actuators under different doping MnO₂ ratios (0, 0.1, 0.25, 0.5, 1) were characterized using scanning electron microscopy. The electromechanical properties of actuators were further given by the experimental test platform, and the electrochemical properties of actuators were analyzed using cyclic voltammetry (CV). CV results revealed that the changing trends of specific capacitance and output force density, specific capacitance and strain were basically the same. When the ratio of MnO₂ was less than 0.5, the former performance increased rapidly, while higher than 0.5, the latter grew faster. The experimental results showed that the adsorption content of MnO₂ particles was affected by changing the conductivity of the electrode layer, which affected the electromechanical properties of actuators.