Polypyrrole micro actuators

The doping and undoping of conjugated polymers is accompanied by a volume change. This volume change can be used to make micro-actuators. We have built polypyrrole (PPy) gold bilayer structures. The volume change of PPy induces a bending of the bilayer. We have made micro-actuators based on this principle, which have been examined with video-microscopy. Some applications for these microactuators are proposed, including opening and closing boxes for cell biology and nanoliter chemistry and micro-robotics.