S2E6

Electrolysis suppression of ionic conductors under high voltage

Engineering the shapes of photomechanical molecular crystals for soft robot systems

Abstract:

The decomposition voltage of ionic conductors (electrolytes) is very low (usually <5 V), electrochemical reactions are inevitable happen when applying a higher voltage through the electrolytes, therefore, high-power ionics are hard to obtain. The electrode/electrolyte interface is where electrochemical reactions take place, the decomposition process experience Electric-double-layered-capacitor (EDLC) formation and breakdown (electron transfer). We propose a simple method to realize electrolysis suppression of ionic conductors under high voltage, the power of KW level was obtained without obvious electrochemical reactions.

Abstract:

Photomechanical materials that can transform light or photons directly into mechanical work and motions are promising candidates for applications in actuators, switches, waveguide devices, and soft robot systems. Instead of incorporating photochromic molecules in the polymer matrix, molecular crystals composed solely of photochromic molecules that are powered by a variety of photochemical reactions can also execute various photoinduced mechanical motions such as bending, twisting, rotation, crawling, peeling, and hopping. However, controlling the size and shape of molecular crystals to produce desirable mechanical motions remains a challenge because the weak van der Waals intermolecular forces between organic molecules undermine their ability to lock in a specific shape during crystallization. Besides the overall crystal shape, the orientation of the molecules within that shape should also play an important role in determining the photomechanical response. In this talk, I will present some of our recent research work on how we control the size and shape of photomechanical molecular crystals by different methods and techniques to generate different mechanical motions for potential soft robot devices and systems.