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      Graphene/elastomer composite-based photo-thermal nanopositioners

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          Abstract

          The addition of nanomaterials to polymers can result not only in significant material property improvements, but also assist in creating entirely new composite functionalities. By dispersing graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) within a polydimethylsiloxane matrix, we show that efficient light absorption by GNPs and subsequent energy transduction to the polymeric chains can be used to controllably produce significant amounts of motion through entropic elasticity of the pre-strained composite. Using dual actuators, a two-axis sub-micron resolution stage was developed, and allowed for two-axis photo-thermal positioning (~100 μm per axis) with 120 nm resolution (feedback sensor limitation), and ~5 μm/s actuation speeds. A PID control loop automatically stabilizes the stage against thermal drift, as well as random thermal-induced position fluctuations (up to the bandwidth of the feedback and position sensor). Maximum actuator efficiency values of ~0.03% were measured, approximately 1000 times greater than recently reported for light-driven polymer systems.

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          Author and article information

          Journal
          Sci Rep
          Sci Rep
          Scientific Reports
          Nature Publishing Group
          2045-2322
          28 May 2013
          2013
          : 3
          : 1900
          Affiliations
          [1 ]Small Systems Laboratory, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Louisville , Louisville, Kentucky 40292, USA
          [2 ]ElectroOptics Research Institute and Nanotechnology Center, University of Louisville , Louisville, Kentucky 40292, USA
          Author notes
          Article
          srep01900
          10.1038/srep01900
          3664893
          23712601
          9d587356-0ffd-43ae-a179-9de100161ede
          Copyright © 2013, Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved

          This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/

          History
          : 28 February 2013
          : 14 May 2013
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