Photoactuation from a carbon nanotube-nafion bilayer composite.

A bilayer composite of single walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) deposited onto Nafion exhibits substantial mechanical motion upon exposure to visible or near-infrared light. The magnitude of the actuation parallels the absorption spectrum of the SWNTs in the near-infrared, but the actuation diminishes in the visible and disappears in the UV portions of the spectrum. In the near-infrared region, the photoactuation is linear with respect to the light intensity.