MoS2 actuators: reversible mechanical responses of MoS2-polymer nanocomposites to photons

New molybdenum disulfide (MoS2)-based polymer composites and their reversible mechanical responses to light are presented, suggesting MoS2 as an excellent candidate for energy conversion. Homogeneous mixtures of MoS2/polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) nanocomposites (0.1-5 wt.%) were prepared and their nea...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nanotechnology 2015-07, Vol.26 (26), p.261001-261001
Main Authors: Fan, Xiaoming, Khosravi, Farhad, Rahneshin, Vahid, Shanmugam, Mariyappan, Loeian, Masoud, Jasinski, Jacek, Cohn, Robert W, Terentjev, Eugene, Panchapakesan, Balaji
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
2D layered materials
actuator
energy conversion
molybdenum disulfide
nanomaterials
photocurrent
photomechanical
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Summary:New molybdenum disulfide (MoS2)-based polymer composites and their reversible mechanical responses to light are presented, suggesting MoS2 as an excellent candidate for energy conversion. Homogeneous mixtures of MoS2/polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) nanocomposites (0.1-5 wt.%) were prepared and their near infrared (NIR) mechanical responses studied with increasing pre-strains. NIR triggering resulted in an extraordinary change in stress levels of the actuators by ~490 times. Actuation responses of MoS2 polymer composites depended on applied pre-strains. At lower levels of pre-strains (3-9%) the actuators showed reversible expansion while at high levels (15-50%), the actuators exhibited reversible contraction. An opto-mechanical conversion ( )∼0.5-3 MPa W−1 was calculated. The ratio of maximum stress due to photo-actuation ( max) at 50% strain to the minimum stress due to photo-actuation ( min) at 3% strain was found to be ∼315-322% for MoS2 actuators (for 0.1 to 5 wt.% additive), greater than single layer graphene (∼188%) and multi-wall nanotube (∼172%) photo-mechanical actuators. Unlike other photomechanical actuators, the MoS2 actuators exhibited strong light-matter interactions and an unambiguous increase in amplitude of photomechanical response with increasing strains. A power law dependence of max/ min on strains with a scaling exponent of β = 0.87-1.32 was observed, suggesting that the origin of photomechanical response is intertwined dynamically with the molecular mechanisms at play in MoS2 actuators.
ISSN:0957-4484
1361-6528
DOI:10.1088/0957-4484/26/26/261001