JP2003152234A - Actuator and its manufacturing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To suppress the displacement amount of elastic deformation and the deterioration in the response speed of an actuator when the actuator is elastically deformed. SOLUTION: The actuator is elastically deformed by applying a voltage across plate-like electrode 2a and 2b between which an electrolytic layer 3 is arranged. The electrodes 2a and 2b are provided with a conductive polymer and conductive materials brought into contact with the polymer. Since the conductive materials have powdery structure, meshlike structure, or porous structure, the deterioration of the electrical contact between the conductive polymers and conductive materials can be prevented when the actuator is elastically deformed. Consequently, the displacement amount of the elastic deformation and the deterioration in the response speed of the actuator when the actuator is elastically deformed can be suppressed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an actuator whose shape is changed by applying a voltage between a plurality of electrodes and a method for manufacturing the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Actuators are, for example, electricity, heat,
It is a mechanism that acts mechanically by receiving signals such as light. Practical actuators include, for example, magnetic motors, voltage elements, hydraulic drive cylinders, pneumatic drive cylinders, and the like. Then, in these actuators, mechanical work such as rotation and expansion and contraction is mainly performed by receiving an electric signal. Also, these actuators are widely used by combining them, for example, from a macroscopic movement of an industrial robot or the like to a microscopic movement such as head movement in a magnetic disk recording apparatus.

The industrial robot described above uses a large number of actuators because its movement is complicated. As described above, the actuator used in the industrial robot or the like is mainly composed of a metal material, has a problem in that it is heavy and difficult to reduce in size, and the device itself used is also increased in size.

For this reason, in recent years, polymer actuators mainly composed of a light-weight and highly flexible polymer material have attracted attention. Known polymer actuators include, for example, polymer voltage elements using polyvinylidene fluoride or the like, gel actuators using ionic conductive polymer gels, conductive polymer actuators using electronic conductive polymers, etc. Has been. Among them, the conductive polymer actuator has an advantage that the generated stress is as large as several MPa although the operating voltage is as low as 1V to 3V.

In this electroconductive polymer actuator, an electrochemical redox reaction is carried out in the electroconductive polymer used when performing mechanical work. In this case, in the electronically conductive polymer, ion doping / dedoping is performed using, for example, an electrolytic solution or a solid electrolyte as a source of ions for replenishing charges, and at the same time, conformational changes of polymer chains and molecular Intra / intramolecular electrostatic repulsion occurs. As a result, in the conductive polymer actuator, since the electronic conductive polymer expands / contracts due to the redox reaction in the electronic conductive polymer, it becomes possible to perform mechanical work such as expansion and contraction.

By the way, in the electronically conductive polymer, its expansion / contraction is, for example, about several percent in the linear direction, and the displacement amount is not enough to be used like a biological muscle in the joint of the industrial robot described above. Was enough.

Therefore, in a conductive polymer actuator, two plate-shaped electrodes containing an electronic conductive polymer are formed as an electrochemical element having a structure in which, for example, a solid electrolyte is sandwiched, and two plate-shaped electrodes By applying a voltage in between, one plate electrode is doped with ions and expands, and the other plate electrode dedopes and contracts, causing the electrochemical element to bend, that is, elastically deform. It makes it possible to perform mechanical work by elastic deformation. In this case, in the conductive polymer actuator, by using the elastic deformation of the electrochemical element, for example, the displacement amount of the elastic deformation in the line direction becomes about 30% to 50%, and the actuator can be used like a living muscle.

[0008]

In the above-described conductive polymer actuator, the electron conductive polymer of one plate electrode is doped with ions when the redox reaction is performed in the electrochemical device. As a result, the electron conductivity is increased, but in the electron conductive polymer of the other plate-like electrode, ions are dedoped and become in an insulating state. Therefore, in a conductive polymer actuator, for example, an electronic conductive polymer is formed on the collector of a metal foil, or a metal film is formed on the surface of the electronic conductive polymer by plating, vapor deposition, sputtering, etc. By doing so, the electron conduction of the plate electrode, that is, the current collection is enhanced.

However, in this electroconductive polymer actuator, when the electrochemical element is elastically deformed, the metal foil of the plate-shaped electrode with enhanced current collection does not expand or contract, so that the electroconductive polymer expands / contracts. Therefore, it becomes difficult to elastically deform the electrochemical device sufficiently.

In this electroconductive polymer actuator, when the electrochemical element repeatedly elastically deforms, the electroconductive polymer of the plate electrode is peeled off from the metal foil, so that the current collection of the electroconductive polymer is deteriorated. There are also problems that the repeated characteristics of elastic deformation of the electrochemical element are deteriorated, or the response speed of the electrochemical element is slowed down, that is, the operation of elastic deformation is slowed down.

In this conductive polymer actuator, when the electrochemical element is elastically deformed, the metal foil of the plate-shaped electrode hinders the expansion and contraction of the electronic conductive polymer, which is in the direction opposite to the bending direction of the electrochemical element. Since the reaction force is generated, the displacement amount of elastic deformation in the electrochemical element is reduced and the response speed of elastic deformation is slowed down.

Further, in the conductive polymer actuator,
When a metal film is used to increase the current collection of the electronically conductive polymer, cracks occur in the metal film on the surface of the electronically conductive polymer when the electrochemical element repeatedly elastically deforms, and The current collection may deteriorate and the repeated characteristics of elastic deformation of the electrochemical element may deteriorate.

Therefore, the present invention has been proposed in view of such conventional circumstances, and the displacement of elastic deformation due to an electrochemical reaction is large, the operating voltage is low, the weight is light, and the response speed is high. An object of the present invention is to provide an actuator having excellent characteristics of repeated elastic deformation and a manufacturing method thereof.

[0014]

The actuator of the present invention is an actuator in which an electrolyte is arranged between a plurality of electrodes and the shape of which changes when a voltage is applied between the electrodes, and the electrodes are doped with ions. / A conductive polymer to be dedoped and a conductive material that has electronic conductivity and is in electrical contact with the conductive polymer are provided, and the conductive material has a powdery, net-like, or porous shape. Presents one of them.

In this actuator, the shape of the conductive material of the plurality of electrodes is one of powder, mesh, and porous, so that the shape of the electrodes changes when a voltage is applied between the electrodes. The conductive material easily follows, and prevents the contact state between the conductive polymer and the conductive material from being deteriorated due to the shape deformation of the electrode.

A method of manufacturing an actuator according to the present invention is a method of manufacturing an actuator in which a polymer electrolyte is arranged between a plurality of electrodes and the shape of which changes when a voltage is applied between the electrodes. A conductive polymer to be dedoped, and an electrode having a conductive material having electronic conductivity and being in electrical contact with the conductive polymer are formed, and the electrode is
A conductive material having one of a powder shape, a net shape, and a porous shape is used.

In this manufacturing method of the actuator, the electrode is formed by using a conductive material whose shape is any one of powder, mesh, and porous, and the voltage is applied to the electrode thus formed. Since the conductive material easily follows the shape change caused by the application of the electric field, it is possible to obtain an actuator in which the contact state between the conductive polymer and the conductive material is prevented from being deteriorated due to the shape change of the electrode.

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION An actuator to which the present invention is applied will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing a configuration example of an actuator 1 to which the present invention is applied. The actuator 1 includes two plate electrodes 2
a, 2b, an electrolyte layer 3 sandwiched between the plate electrodes 2a, 2b, and terminal portions 4a, 4b provided on the two plate electrodes 2a, 2b, respectively.

The plate-shaped electrodes 2a and 2b are made of a conductive polymer.
And a conductive material. The conductive polymer can perform doping / dedoping of ions accompanying an oxidation-reduction reaction by applying a voltage. For example, a voltage is applied between the two plate-shaped electrodes 2a and 2b to dope the ions. Will expand and contract when the ions are dedoped.

Examples of the conductive polymer include polyacetylene, polyaniline, polypyrrole, polythiophene,
Π-conjugated conductive polymer such as polyparaphenylene, polyphenylene vinylene, and polyazulene, and an alkyl group, a sulfonic acid group, a carboxylic acid group, an alkylsulfonic acid group, an alkylcarboxylic acid group, etc. in these π-conjugated conductive polymers And a derivative obtained by adding a side chain organic compound such as polyoxyethylene or polyoxypropylene to a π-conjugated conductive polymer are used. Among them, polyaniline, polypyrrole, polythiophene and their derivatives, which are easily chemically and electrochemically polymerized, are mainly used as the conductive polymer.

The electrically conductive material functions to enhance electronic conduction, that is, current collection, with respect to the electrically conductive polymer by making electrical contact with the electrically conductive polymer. As the conductive material,
A carbon material, metal, or the like having high electron conductivity, resistance to a solvent, etc., and electrochemically stable in the potential range where the conductive polymer is redox-reduced is used. As the conductive material, for example, carbon fiber, amorphous carbon, graphite, gold, platinum, palladium or the like is used. For example, when the electrolyte layer 3 contains water, it is preferable to use gold, which has a large overvoltage when hydrogen is generated by the reduction reaction, as the conductive material.

The conductive material has a powdery, net-like, or porous shape that does not hinder the movement of the conductive polymer when the conductive polymer expands / contracts by redox. The plate electrodes 2a and 2b are configured in a state of being in electrical contact with the conductive polymer. Further, the plate electrodes 2a and 2b may be configured to include a plurality of types of conductive materials having different shapes. As a result, the plate electrodes 2a, 2
In b, the electrical contact between the conductive polymer and the conductive material can be made more appropriate.

The powdery conductive material is used in a state of being dispersed in a conductive polymer as shown in FIG. When forming the plate-like electrodes 2a and 2b using this powdery conductive material, the conductive polymer is dissolved in a solvent such as N-methylpyrrolidone, and the conductive polymer solution is added to the powdered conductive material. After the material is added and dispersed by stirring, it is applied to a flat plate or the like having releasability to remove the solvent. Thus, the plate-shaped electrodes 2a and 2b using the powdery conductive material are obtained.

When the conductive polymer cannot be dissolved in a solvent, a powdery conductive material is dispersed in an electrolytic solution containing a monomer, and electropolymerization is performed in this electrolytic solution to form a plate electrode 2 on a flat plate.
a or 2b is formed, or plate-shaped electrodes 2a and 2b are formed by electrolytic polymerization on a flat plate on which a powdery conductive material is uniformly spread in an electrolytic solution containing a monomer. In this way, the plate-like electrodes 2a and 2b using the powdery conductive material may be obtained.

The powdery conductive material has, for example, a spherical shape, a plate shape, a rod shape, a fibrous shape, or the like, and the maximum value of the particle diameter is not more than the thickness of the plate electrodes 2a and 2b.
Specifically, the conductive material in the form of powder should be used with its particle size being 1/2 or less of the thickness of the plate-shaped electrodes 2a, 2b so as not to hinder the expansion / contraction of the conductive polymer. Is preferred. In addition, the addition amount of the powdery conductive material is
If the addition amount is small relative to the conductive polymer, the plate electrode 2a,
It is difficult to secure the conductivity of 2b, and if the addition amount is large, the expansion / contraction of the conductive polymer is hindered. It is more preferably 1% by volume to 20% by volume.

The net-like conductive material is used in a state of being embedded in a conductive polymer as shown in FIG. The plate-like electrode 2 is formed by using this net-like conductive material.
When forming a and 2b, the conductive polymer is dissolved in a solvent such as N-methylpyrrolidone and the solution of the conductive polymer is directly applied to the mesh-shaped conductive material, and then the solvent is removed or After the conductive polymer solution is applied on the flat plate on which the conductive material is laid, the solvent is removed. In this way
Plate-shaped electrodes 2a and 2b using a conductive material having a mesh shape are obtained.

When the conductive polymer cannot be dissolved in the solvent, the plate-shaped electrodes 2a and 2b are formed by electrolytic polymerization using a net-shaped conductive material as a base material in an electrolytic solution containing a monomer, or electrolysis containing a monomer. Plate electrodes 2a and 2b are formed by electrolytic polymerization on a flat plate on which a mesh-like conductive material is laid in the liquid.
In this way, the plate-like electrode 2 using the conductive material having a mesh shape
You may obtain a, 2b.

The mesh-like conductive material may have, for example, a mesh having a flat or three-dimensional structure, and the plate-shaped electrode 2
Plural pieces may be provided in each of a and 2b. The net-like conductive material has a thickness equal to or less than the thickness of the plate electrodes 2a and 2b. Specifically, it is preferable to use the net-like conductive material with a thickness of 100 μm or less so as not to hinder the expansion / contraction of the conductive polymer. In addition, it is difficult for the mesh-shaped conductive material to secure the conductivity of the plate-shaped electrodes 2a and 2b if the mesh of the mesh is large, and if the mesh of the mesh is small, the expansion / contraction of the conductive polymer is hindered. Therefore, the mesh size is preferably 30 to 300 mesh.

The porous conductive material is used in a state of being embedded in a conductive polymer, like the net-shaped conductive material. Further, the plate-shaped electrodes 2a and 2b using the porous conductive material can be obtained in the same manner as when forming the plate-shaped electrodes 2a and 2b using the mesh-shaped conductive material. As the porous conductive material, for example, foamed metal such as metal sponge, carbon fiber felt, or resin nonwoven fabric such as polyolefin, or a porous film on which a metal film is formed by electroless plating or the like is used. To be

The electrolyte layer 3 is a polymer electrolyte, and is a so-called gel electrolyte or solid electrolyte. The polymer electrolyte is composed of, for example, an electrolyte salt, a solvent that dissolves the electrolyte salt, and a polymer matrix that holds the solvent.

The electrolyte salt is usually a non-aqueous battery electrolyte.
It is possible to use a known lithium salt or the like used in
it can. Specifically, LiPF₆, LiBF_Four, LiA
sF ₆, LiClO_Four, LiCF_ThreeSO_Three, LiN (S
O_TwoCF_Three)_Two, LiC (SO_TwoCF_Three)_Three, LiAl
Cl_Four, LiSiF₆You can use salt such as
Use one or more of these salts
It

As a solvent for dissolving the electrolyte salt, a known solvent or the like which is usually used for a non-aqueous battery electrolyte can be used. Specifically, propylene carbonate, ethylene carbonate, dimethyl carbonate,
Diethyl carbonate, ethyl methyl carbonate, dipropyl carbonate, methyl propyl carbonate,
Ethyl propyl carbonate, dibutyl carbonate,
Butyl methyl carbonate, butyl ethyl carbonate, butyl propyl carbonate, and solvents in which carbon atoms of these carbonates are replaced with halogen atoms, γ
-Butyl lactone, dimethoxyethane, tetrahydrofuran, 2-methyltetrahydrofuran, 1,3-dioxolane, 4-methyl 1,3-dioxolane, diethyl ether, sulfolane, methylsulfolane, methylsulfolane butyrate, acetonitrile, propionnitrile, methyl propionate, etc. Can be used, and these solvents can be used alone or in combination of two or more.

As the polymer matrix, for example, polyvinylidene fluoride (PVdF), polyacrylonitrile,
Polyethylene oxide, polypropylene oxide, polymethacrylonitrile, etc. can be used, and one or more of them can be mixed and used depending on the usage such as gel electrolyte and solid electrolyte.

When water is used as a solvent for dissolving the electrolyte salt, a known water-soluble electrolyte salt can be used as the electrolyte salt, but when the electrolyte layer 3 becomes alkaline, the conductivity of the plate electrodes 2a, 2b is increased. Neutral salts or acid salts are used because the ionic polymer is irreversibly insulated. Examples of the polymer matrix include polyethylene oxide, polypropylene oxide, polyvinyl alcohol,
Polymers such as polyacrylic acid and polymethacrylic acid may be used, and if necessary, one or more of these polymers may be mixed, or these polymers may be crosslinked to be used.

As the electrolyte layer 3, it is also possible to use, for example, a polymer matrix in which a solvent also swells a cation exchange resin or anion exchange resin, which also functions as an electrolyte salt. Specifically, a cation exchange resin obtained by introducing a sulfonic acid group or a carboxylic acid group into a fluororesin having high electrochemical stability is used.

The terminals 4a and 4b are made of, for example, gold, platinum,
Strip-shaped metal pieces such as copper, silver and aluminum are used. In the plate-shaped electrodes 2a and 2b, for example, a net-like or porous conductive material is exposed from the conductive polymer and the terminal portion 4 is formed.
It is also possible to substitute for a and 4b, and in this case, cost reduction can be achieved.

The actuator 1 constructed as described above
Is an oxidation reaction on one of the two plate-shaped electrodes 2a and 2b by applying a voltage between the two plate-shaped electrodes 2a and 2b containing a conductive material in a conductive polymer, and a reduction reaction on the other. Occurs, for example, when the conductive polymer of the plate electrode 2a is doped with ions, the conductive polymer expands, and when the ion is dedoped from the conductive polymer of the other plate electrode, the conductive polymer contracts. Will be done. As a result, in the actuator 1, as shown in FIG. 4, the two plate-shaped electrodes 2a,
In 2b, one of the conductive polymers expands and the other conductive polymer contracts, so that the plate-shaped electrodes 2a and 2b sandwiching the electrolyte layer 3 are curved, that is, elastically deformed. It becomes possible to perform mechanical work such as moving an object within a range associated with the amount of elastic deformation of the plate-shaped electrodes 2a and 2b indicated by A.

In this actuator 1, the shape of the conductive material provided on the plate-shaped electrodes 2a and 2b is powder, mesh,
The conductive material easily exhibits the elastic deformation of the plate-shaped electrodes 2a and 2b caused by applying a voltage between the plate-shaped electrodes 2a and 2b, and the plate-shaped electrodes 2a and 2b are elastic. Even when the deformation is repeated, the conductive material is prevented from peeling off from the conductive polymer and electrical contact is prevented from being deteriorated.

As a result, in the actuator 1, it is possible to prevent the electron conduction of the conductive polymer in the plate-shaped electrodes 2a and 2b from deteriorating, and the deterioration of the repeated characteristics of elastic deformation of the plate-shaped electrodes 2a and 2b, that is, the plate It is prevented that the displacement amount of elastic deformation becomes small when the elastic deformation of the plate electrodes 2a and 2b is repeated and the response speed of the plate electrodes 2a and 2b is slowed, that is, the operation of elastic deformation is slowed. .

In this actuator 1, the shape of the conductive material is powder, mesh, or porous, and the plate-shaped electrodes 2a,
Since the conductive material easily follows the elastic deformation of 2b, when the plate-shaped electrodes 2a, 2b elastically deform as compared with the case where a metal foil that prevents movement such as expansion / contraction of the conductive polymer is used as the conductive material. It is possible to increase the displacement amount of.
In this actuator 1, when the plate-shaped electrodes 2a and 2b elastically deform, the conductive material in the plate-shaped electrodes 2a and 2b easily follows the expansion and contraction of the conductive polymer. A reaction force is not generated in the direction opposite to the bending direction of the plate electrode, and the response speed when the plate electrodes 2a and 2b are elastically deformed is prevented from becoming slow.

Next, a method of manufacturing the above-mentioned actuator 1 will be described. When manufacturing the actuator 1 to which the present invention is applied, first, the plate electrodes 2a and 2b are manufactured. Here, the case of using a conductive material in the form of powder will be described.

When the plate-shaped electrodes 2a and 2b are manufactured, a metal flat plate having releasability is placed horizontally in an electrolytic solution containing a monomer, and a conductive material in the form of powder is predetermined on the metal flat plate. Deposit in thickness. Next, a metal plate is used as a working electrode, and metal lithium or the like is used for the counter electrode and the reference electrode, and electrolytically polymerized at a predetermined potential or current to electrically contact the powdery conductive material on the metal plate. A plate-shaped conductive polymer is formed. Next, the conductive polymer is peeled off from the metal flat plate and cut into a predetermined size. In this way, the plate-like electrodes 2a and 2b containing the powdery conductive material are manufactured.

Next, the plate electrode 2 manufactured as described above.
An electrolyte layer 3 is formed on each of a and 2b. Electrolyte layer 3
When forming, the polymer electrolyte solution is prepared by dissolving the electrolyte and the polymer matrix in a solvent. This polymer electrolyte solution is applied to one main surface of the plate electrodes 2a and 2b,
Volatilize the solvent. In this way, the plate electrodes 2a, 2b
Electrolyte layers 3 are formed on the respective one main surfaces.

Next, the plate-like electrodes 2a and 2b having the electrolyte layer 3 formed on one principal surface as described above are bonded so that the electrolyte layer 3 faces each other, and the plate-like electrodes 2a and 2b are placed at arbitrary positions. The terminal portions 4a and 4b are attached to each. In this way, the actuator 1 is manufactured.

In the method of manufacturing the actuator 1 as described above, the plate-shaped electrodes 2a, 2 are formed by using the powdery conductive material.
b, and the plate-shaped electrodes 2a and 2b formed in this manner easily follow the elastic deformation that occurs when a voltage is applied, so that the plate-shaped electrodes 2a and 2b are not elastically deformed. The actuator 1 capable of preventing the conductive material from peeling off from the conductive polymer even when it is repeated is obtained.

As a result, in the method of manufacturing the actuator 1, it is possible to prevent the electron conduction of the conductive polymer in the plate-shaped electrodes 2a and 2b from deteriorating, and
The actuator 1 is manufactured which prevents deterioration of the repetitive characteristics of elastic deformation of 2b and slowing down the response speed of the plate electrodes 2a and 2b.

[0047]

EXAMPLES Examples in which an actuator according to the present invention is actually manufactured will be described below. A comparative example prepared for comparison with these examples will be described.

<Example 1> When the actuator in Example 1 was produced, first, two plate-like electrodes were produced. Pyrrole as the monomer and LiP as the electrolyte salt
An electrolytic solution was prepared by dissolving F ₆ in propylene carbonate to form a conductive polymer. A metal flat plate having one surface coated with an adhesive tape was placed horizontally in the electrolytic solution, and gold powder having a particle diameter of 0.5 μm was deposited as 3 mg / cm ² on the metal flat plate as a conductive material. next,
By using a metal plate as a working electrode and using lithium or the like for the counter electrode and the reference electrode, and performing a constant potential electrolytic polymerization of Li / Li ^{+ at} 3.9 V, the thickness containing the gold powder as a conductive material on the metal plate was reduced. A 60 μm plate-shaped conductive polymer was formed. Next, after peeling off the conductive polymer from the metal flat plate and washing with dimethyl carbonate, a width of 5 mm and a length of 20
Multiple pieces were cut into a strip of mm. In this way, a plate electrode was produced.

Next, an electrolyte layer was formed on each of the two plate-shaped electrodes produced as described above. When forming the electrolyte layer, an electrolyte solution was prepared by dissolving LiPF ₆ in an amount of 0.9 mol / kg with respect to the solvent weight in a solvent in which 60 wt% of ethylene carbonate and 40 wt% of propylene carbonate were mixed. Next, this electrolytic solution, polyvinylidene fluoride containing less than 7.7% of hexafluoropropylene, and dimethyl carbonate were mixed and stirred to prepare a gel electrolyte solution in a sol state. Next, this gel electrolyte solution was applied on one main surface of each of the two plate-shaped electrodes to volatilize dimethyl carbonate. In this way, an electrolyte layer was formed on one main surface of each of the two plate-shaped electrodes.

Next, the two plate-shaped electrodes having the electrolyte layer formed on the one main surface as described above are bonded so that the electrolyte layers face each other, and the gold is placed at an arbitrary position on the two plate-shaped electrodes. Each of the strip-shaped terminal portions made of was attached. In this way, in Example 1, an actuator using gold powder as the conductive material of the plate electrode was manufactured.

Example 2 In Example 2, the same actuator as in Example 1 was used except that the conductive material of the plate-like electrode was a platinum mesh having a wire diameter of 40 μm and a mesh of 150 mesh. It was made.

Example 3 In Example 3, except that a porous polyethylene nonwoven fabric having a thickness of 40 μm and having a gold coating film formed by electroless plating was used as the conductive material of the plate electrode. An actuator similar to that in Example 1 was manufactured.

<Comparative Example 1> In Comparative Example 1, an actuator similar to that of Example 1 was produced except that a conductive material was not used for the plate electrode.

<Comparative Example 2> In Comparative Example 2, an actuator similar to that of Example 1 was produced except that a gold foil having a thickness of 20 μm was used as the conductive material of the plate electrode.

<Comparative Example 3> In Comparative Example 3, as the conductive material of the plate-like electrode, the thickness of 1 μm formed by vacuum deposition on the surface of the plate-like electrode.
An actuator similar to that of Example 1 was produced except that a gold layer of m was formed.

Next, with respect to the actuators of Examples 1 to 3 and Comparative Examples 1 to 3 produced as described above, the actuators bend when a voltage is applied between the plate electrodes, that is, elasticity. Deform once, twice, and 10
Repeated times, the time until maximum deformation and the amount of displacement at the time of elastic deformation were measured for each time.

In order to apply the voltage to the plate electrode of the actuator and measure the time until the actuator deforms to the maximum and the amount of displacement, first, a voltage of 2 V is applied between the plate electrodes of the actuator, and the actuator elastically deforms. The time from the start of elastic deformation to completion of elastic deformation and the amount of displacement when elastic deformation was completed were measured. Next, when the measurement was completed, the two plate-shaped electrodes were short-circuited to restore the actuator to the shape before elastic deformation. Next, a voltage of 2V is applied between the plate electrodes in the opposite direction to the initial direction, and similarly to the beginning, the time until the actuator starts elastic deformation and the elastic deformation is completed, and the time when the elastic deformation is completed The amount of displacement and was measured. Next, when the measurement when the reverse voltage was applied between the plate-shaped electrodes was completed, the two plate-shaped electrodes were short-circuited in the same manner as at the beginning to restore the actuator to the shape before elastic deformation. In this way, applying a voltage between the plate-shaped electrodes in the forward direction and the reverse direction is defined as one cycle, and the time from when the actuator starts elastic deformation and when the elastic deformation is completed is repeated 2 and 10 times. And the amount of displacement when elastic deformation was completed were measured.

Hereinafter, Examples 1 to 3 and Comparative Example 1 will be described.
Table 1 shows the evaluation results of the maximum displacement position arrival time and the maximum displacement amount of the actuator in Comparative Example 3.

[0059]

[Table 1]

In Table 1, since the measurement results when applying the forward and reverse voltages between the plate electrodes are almost the same, the forward voltage is applied between the plate electrodes. The measurement results are shown.

From the evaluation results shown in Table 1, in Examples 1 to 3 using gold powder, platinum net, and porous polyethylene nonwoven fabric having a gold coating formed on the conductive material of the plate electrodes, The maximum displacement position arrival time of the actuator is significantly shorter than in Comparative Example 1 in which a conductive material is not used for the electrode.
It can be seen that the maximum displacement is large.

Comparative Example 1 in which no conductive material is used for the plate electrode
However, since the conductive material is not used for the plate-like electrodes, the electron conduction of the conductive polymer is poor, and the redox reaction that occurs when a voltage is applied between the plate-like electrodes causes doping / de-doping between the conductive polymers. Since the amount of generated ions is small, the response speed of the actuator becomes slow and the maximum displacement amount due to elastic deformation of the actuator also becomes small. Further, in Comparative Example 1, since the electroconductive polymer has poor electron conductivity, ions are dedoped before the electroconductive polymer is completely doped, and the actuator undergoes a cycle of elastic deformation to cause a plate failure. The electrical conductivity of the electrode is lost.

On the other hand, in Examples 1 to 3, the conductive material of the plate-like electrodes was made of gold powder, platinum mesh, and porous polyethylene nonwoven fabric having a gold coating film, respectively. Since the electroconductive polymer has a good electron conductivity and the amount of ions doped / dedoped between the electroconductive polymers by the redox reaction caused by applying a voltage between the plate-like electrodes is appropriate. The response speed of the actuator does not slow down, and the maximum amount of displacement due to elastic deformation of the actuator can be increased.

Further, from the evaluation results shown in Table 1, in Examples 1 to 3 in which gold powder, platinum net, and porous polyethylene nonwoven fabric having a gold film formed thereon were used as the conductive materials of the plate-like electrodes, respectively. It can be seen that the maximum displacement amount is significantly larger and the maximum displacement position arrival time of the actuator is also shorter after the second cycle as compared with Comparative Example 2 in which gold foil is used as the conductive material for the plate electrode.

Comparative Example 2 in which gold foil is used as the conductive material of the plate electrode
However, since the conductive material of the plate electrode is gold foil, it is difficult for the conductive material to follow the elastic deformation of the actuator, which hinders the expansion and contraction of the conductive polymer and the direction opposite to the direction in which the plate electrode bends. Since the reaction force is generated in the actuator, the maximum displacement amount due to the elastic deformation of the actuator becomes small. Further, in Comparative Example 2, the gold foil of the conductive material does not easily follow the elastic deformation of the actuator, and the repeated elastic deformation causes the conductive material to peel off from the conductive polymer, and the electron conduction of the conductive polymer gradually deteriorates. As a result, the arrival time of the maximum displacement position of the actuator is delayed after the second cycle, and the conductivity of the plate electrode is lost at the tenth cycle, so that the elastic deformation of the actuator does not occur.

On the other hand, in Examples 1 to 3, the conductive material of the plate-like electrode was made of gold powder, platinum net, and porous polyethylene nonwoven fabric having a gold coating film, respectively. Since the elastic deformation of the actuator is easily followed and the expansion and contraction of the conductive polymer is not hindered, the maximum displacement amount due to the elastic deformation of the actuator can be increased. In addition, in Examples 1 to 3, since the conductive material easily follows the elastic deformation of the actuator, even if the actuator repeatedly elastically deforms, peeling of the conductive material from the conductive polymer is suppressed, and high conductivity is achieved. It prevents the electron conduction of the molecule from deteriorating and suppresses the response speed of the actuator from becoming slow after the second cycle.

Furthermore, from the evaluation results shown in Table 1, in Examples 1 to 3 in which gold powder, platinum mesh, and porous polyethylene nonwoven fabric having a gold coating film were used as the conductive material of the plate-like electrodes, respectively. In comparison with Comparative Example 3 in which a gold layer is formed on the surface of the plate electrode as the conductive material of the plate electrode, the maximum displacement position arrival time of the actuator is short and the maximum displacement amount is large after the second cycle. I understand.

In Comparative Example 3 in which a gold layer was formed on the surface of the plate electrode as a conductive material of the plate electrode, the gold layer formed on the surface of the plate electrode was elastically deformed by the actuator in the first cycle. Since the gold layer is cracked and the electron conduction of the conductive polymer gradually deteriorates as the actuator elastically deforms repeatedly, the maximum displacement position arrival time of the actuator after the second cycle is delayed and the maximum displacement amount is increased. Also becomes smaller.

On the other hand, in Examples 1 to 3, the conductive material of the plate-like electrodes was made of gold powder, platinum mesh, and porous polyethylene nonwoven fabric on which a gold film was formed. It is easy to follow the elastic deformation of the actuator, and even if the actuator is repeatedly elastically deformed, the conductive material is prevented from being cracked and the electronic conduction of the conductive polymer is prevented from being deteriorated. It is possible to suppress the decrease in the maximum displacement amount of the actuator and the decrease in the maximum amount of displacement after the cycle.

From the above, when the actuator is manufactured, it is necessary to use a conductive material such as gold powder, platinum mesh, or porous polyethylene non-woven fabric having a gold coating for the plate electrode, when the maximum displacement due to elastic deformation is caused. It is very effective in manufacturing an actuator that has a short time to reach the position and a large maximum displacement amount due to elastic deformation.

[0071]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, a voltage is applied to the electrode by using a conductive material whose shape is one of powdery, reticulated and porous. Since the conductive material easily follows the change in shape caused by applying the voltage, an actuator in which the contact state between the conductive polymer and the conductive material does not deteriorate even if the shape of the electrode deforms can be obtained.

Therefore, according to the present invention, the change in the shape of the actuator caused by the contact failure between the conductive polymer and the conductive material is small, and the response speed when the shape of the actuator is changed is slow. Also, it is possible to prevent deterioration of the repeating characteristics when the actuator repeatedly changes its shape.

Further, according to the present invention, since the actuator is made of a conductive polymer, a powdery, net-like, or porous conductive material, an electrolyte, etc., the operating voltage is made as small as a battery. It is possible to reduce the weight and the cost.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an actuator according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of a plate-like electrode using a powdery conductive material in the actuator.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of a plate-like electrode using a net-like conductive material in the actuator.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing a state where the actuator is elastically deformed.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Actuator, 2a, 2b Plate-shaped positive electrode, 3 Electrolyte layer, 4a, 4b Terminal part

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. An actuator in which an electrolyte is arranged between a plurality of electrodes and whose shape is changed by applying a voltage between the electrodes, wherein the electrodes dope / de-ionize ions moving between the electrodes. A conductive polymer to be doped and a conductive material having electronic conductivity and being in electrical contact with the conductive polymer are provided, and the shape of the conductive material is one of powder, mesh, and porous. An actuator that is a kind of. 2. The actuator according to claim 1, wherein the electrode comprises any one kind or plural kinds of the conductive materials having different shapes. 3. The actuator according to claim 1, wherein the conductive material contains any one or a plurality of carbon fibers, amorphous carbon, graphite, gold, platinum and palladium. 4. The actuator according to claim 1, wherein the conductive polymer is one or a mixture of polypyrrole, polyaniline, polythiophene, and derivatives thereof. 5. A method of manufacturing an actuator, wherein an electrolyte is arranged between a plurality of electrodes, and the shape of which changes when a voltage is applied between the electrodes, in a method of doping / dedoping ions moving between the electrodes. Forming an electrode having a conductive polymer and a conductive material that has electronic conductivity and is in electrical contact with the conductive polymer, and the electrode has any one of a powdery shape, a net-like shape, and a porous shape. A method for manufacturing an actuator, which uses one of the above conductive materials. 6. The method for manufacturing an actuator according to claim 5, wherein any one or more of the conductive materials having different shapes are used for the electrodes. 7. The method for manufacturing an actuator according to claim 5, wherein any one or a plurality of carbon fibers, amorphous carbon, graphite, gold, platinum and palladium is used as the conductive material. 8. The method for manufacturing an actuator according to claim 5, wherein the conductive polymer is formed of any one kind or a mixture of plural kinds of polypyrrole, polyaniline, polythiophene, and derivatives thereof.