Electroactive polymer structures printed with varying compositions of ions

A method of forming an electroactive polymer structure, comprising:

• forming a first electrode layer by extruding the first flexible electrode layer from a solution of carbon particles with a polymer binder and ionic liquid to form a first flexible electrode layer;
• forming a second flexible electrode layer by extruding the second flexible electrode layer from a solution of carbon particles with a polymer binder and ionic liquid to form a first flexible electrode layer;
• and
• forming a polymer dielectric layer in between the first flexible electrode and the second flexible electrode from a solution mixture of poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropene) (PVDF-HFP) with an ionic liquid, such that the polymer dielectric layer includes two regions, each region having a different ionic liquid concentration.

An electroactive polymer structure, comprising:

• a first flexible electrode structure including:
• a first top flexible electrode,
• a first polymer dielectric layer with ionic liquid on top of the first top flexible electrode, and
• a first bottom flexible electrode on top of the first polymer dielectric layer;
• and
• a second flexible electrode structure including:
• a second top flexible electrode,
• a second polymer dielectric layer with ionic liquid on top of the second top flexible electrode, and
• a second bottom flexible electrode on top of the second polymer dielectric layer,
• wherein the first top flexible electrode is connected to the second bottom flexible electrode through a first via and the second top flexible electrode is connected to the first bottom flexible electrode through a second via, and
• wherein the electroactive polymer structure deforms into an “S” shape when a bias is applied.