Transparent actuator made with few layer graphene electrode and dielectric elastomer, for variable focus lens

A transparent dielectric elastomer actuator driven by few-layer-graphene (FLG) electrode was experimentally investigated. The electrodes were made of graphene, which was dispersed inN-methyl-pyrrolidone. The transparent actuator was fabricated from developed FLG electrodes.The FLG electrode with its sheet resistance of 0.45 kΩ/sq (80 nm thick) was implemented to mask silicone elastomer. The developed FLG-driven actuator exhibited an optical transparency of over 57% at a wavenumber of 600 nm and produced bending displacement performance ranging from 29 to 946 μm as functions of frequency and voltage. The focus variation was clearly demonstrated under actuation to study its application-feasibility in variable focus lens and various opto-electro-mechanical devices

Direct measurement of mechanical vibrations of the 4-rod RFQ at the HLI

In this paper, we present a new haptic interface, called active skin , which is configured with a tactile sensor and a tactile stimulator in single haptic cell, and multiple haptic cells are embedded in a dielectric elastomer. The active skin generates a wide variety of haptic feel in response to the touch by synchronizing the sensor and the stimulator. In this paper, the design of the haptic cell is derived via iterative analysis and design procedures. A fabrication method dedicated to the proposed device is investigated and a controller to drive multiple haptic cells is developed. In addition, several experiments are performed to evaluate the performance of the active skin

Electropolymerisation Technologies for Next-Generation Lithium–Sulphur Batteries

Peer reviewed: TrueFunder: Postdoctoral Research Program of Sungkyunkwan UniversityLithium–sulphur batteries (LiSBs) have garnered significant attention as the next-generation energy storage device because of their high theoretical energy density, low cost, and environmental friendliness. However, the undesirable “shuttle effect” by lithium polysulphides (LPSs) severely inhibits their practical application. To alleviate the shuttle effect, conductive polymers have been used to fabricate LiSBs owing to their improved electrically conducting pathways, flexible mechanical properties, and high affinity to LPSs, which allow the shuttle effect to be controlled. In this study, the applications of various conductive polymers prepared via the simple yet sophisticated electropolymerisation (EP) technology are systematically investigated based on the main components of LiSBs (cathodes, anodes, separators, and electrolytes). Finally, the potential application of EP technology in next-generation batteries is comprehensively discussed

Electropolymerisation Technologies for Next-Generation Lithium-Sulphur Batteries.

Lithium-sulphur batteries (LiSBs) have garnered significant attention as the next-generation energy storage device because of their high theoretical energy density, low cost, and environmental friendliness. However, the undesirable "shuttle effect" by lithium polysulphides (LPSs) severely inhibits their practical application. To alleviate the shuttle effect, conductive polymers have been used to fabricate LiSBs owing to their improved electrically conducting pathways, flexible mechanical properties, and high affinity to LPSs, which allow the shuttle effect to be controlled. In this study, the applications of various conductive polymers prepared via the simple yet sophisticated electropolymerisation (EP) technology are systematically investigated based on the main components of LiSBs (cathodes, anodes, separators, and electrolytes). Finally, the potential application of EP technology in next-generation batteries is comprehensively discussed

Synthesis of Triphenylsilylmethyl and Triphenylmethyl-Telechelic Polyisobutylene: An Approach to the Synthesis of Multi-Ion Telechelic Ionomers

Triphenylsilyl- and triphenylmethyl-telechelic polyisobutylene (PIB) were prepared by lithiation of three-arm star PIBs carrying either olefinic or tert-alkyl chloride end groups, followed by reaction with triphenylsilyl chloride or triphenylcarbenium ion, respectively. Since the lithiated intermediate is a substituted allylic carbanion, the chain end also possesses a double bond which is located beta-gamma relative to the silyl or triphenylmethyl group. The phenyl groups were incorporated into the polymers to provide extra sites for sulfonation, in addition to the double bond, to enable the synthesis of multi-ion telechelic ionomers. H-1- and C-13-NMR spectroscopy showed that triphenylsilylation and triphenylmethylation were essentially quantitative when applied under the prescribed conditions to either the model compound, 2,4,4-trimethyl-1-pentene, or to the telechelic PIBs. It was observed that exhaustive sulfonation of these materials using acetyl sulfate or chlorosulfonic acid yielded only about 50% sulfonation of the available sites. This suggests that sulfonation of closely adjacent, multiple sites within the same molecule fails due to deactivation of the remaining sites after one or perhaps two sulfonations. However, the triphenylsilyl- and triphenyl-methyl-telechelic PIBs represent novel prepolymers which can perhaps be derivatized by some method other than sulfonation, and the general concept for producing telechelic ionomer precursors with multiple sulfonation sites may prove successful with other moieties containing spacer groups between sites

Sulfonation of Tert-Alkyl Chlorides: Application to the Tert-Chloride-Terminated Polyisobutylene System

The direct sulfonation of tert-chloride-terminated polyisobutylene was carried out using acetyl sulfate in methylene chloride/hexanes diluent to produce low molecular weight model ionomer systems with narrow molecular weight distribution. The room temperature sulfonation of 2-chloro-2,4,4-trimethylpentane, which serves as a model for the polyisobutylene chain end obtained in the controlled cationic polymerization of isobutylene, was found to be quantitative after 3 h reaction. The two major products, isomeric beta,gamma-unsaturated sulfonic acids differing only in the location of the double bond, were the same products obtained from the sulfonation of 2,4,4-trimethyl-1-pentene, which serves as a model for the polyisobutylene chain end after quantitative dehydrochlorination. Near-monodisperse, tert-chloride-terminated, three-arm star polyisobutylene was synthesized under living cationic polymerization conditions using the tricumylchloride/TiCl4/pyridine initiation system in hexanes/methyl chloride cosolvents. Sulfonation was carried out directly upon the obtained polymer, and the sulfonated product was purified using ion-exchange chromatography. Structural elucidation was performed using NMR. Titration and molecular weight characterization revealed that sulfonation produced exactly one sulfonic acid group per polyisobutylene chain end