Electropolymerized Conducting Polymer as Actuator and Sensor Device: An Undergraduate Electrochemical Laboratory Experiment

Abstract

A trilayer formed by two conducting polymer films sandwiched around an adhesive polymer layer works as actuator and sensor simultaneously. This device can be bent up to ±180° and it can be used as a sensing device of physical chemistry parameters such as cell temperature and electrolyte concentration. In this article, it is shown in a didactic way how to electrochemically synthesize ClO4–-doped polypyrrole (PPy) films, how to fabricate a trilayer device, and how to evaluate its actuating and sensing capabilities. The required materials are simple and a complicated setup is not necessary. A laboratory exercise that introduces the actuating properties of polypyrrole as well as the temperature-sensing capabilities of PPy can be used to expose students to electrochemical and smart materials principles.