{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,29]],"date-time":"2026-10-29T18:37:31Z","timestamp":1793299051954,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":45,"publisher":"American Chemical Society (ACS)","issue":"42","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,16]],"date-time":"2026-10-16T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1792108800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100010664","name":"H2020 Future and Emerging Technologies","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["801378"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["801378"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100010664","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,28]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>Nanoscale soft actuators are attracting increasing interest for microrobotics, biointerfaces, and adaptive materials; however, reliable actuation mechanisms at nanometer dimensions remain scarce. Here, we demonstrate axial electro-actuation of dielectric elastomer fibers driven by electrostriction using an electrochemical approach. A driving voltage applied to a gold electrode sputter-deposited onto the sub-micron fiber induces ionic double-layer formation, establishing a stable electric field across the dielectric fiber without electrical breakdown. The resulting electrostriction-driven deformation is quantified by modulated electrochemical force microscopy, revealing a cubic electric-field dependence consistent with electrostriction and RC-limited dynamics governed by ionic transport. Measurements with fibers of varying diameters (400 nm\u20134.4 \u03bcm) show enhanced actuation at smaller scales, confirming a stable scaling law for electrostriction down to submicrometric dimensions. For electrospun polyurethane fibers, we determine an electrostriction coefficient of M31 = (2.9 \u00b1 0.6) \u00d7 10\u201317 m2\/V2, establishing electrostriction as a viable mechanism for submicron scale dielectric fiber actuators in electrochemical environments.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1021\/acsami.6c15348","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,16]],"date-time":"2026-10-16T12:01:45Z","timestamp":1792152105000},"page":"58200-58209","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Electrical Double-Layer-Driven Actuation of Individual Electrospun Elastomeric Fibers"],"prefix":"10.1021","volume":"18","author":[{"given":"Carlo","family":"Gotti","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Bologna , , Viale Risorgimento 2 , ,","place":["Bologna, Italy, 40136"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nikolas","family":"Franke","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Bologna , , Viale Berti Pichat 6\/2 , ,","place":["Bologna, Italy, 40127"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Antonio","family":"De Marco","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Bologna , , via P. Gobetti 85 , ,","place":["Bologna, Italy, 40129"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Riccardo","family":"D\u2019Anniballe","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Groningen , , Nijenborgh 9 , , ,","place":["Groningen, AG, The Netherlands, 9747"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0504-3654","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Anna","family":"Liguori","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Bologna , , Via Gobetti 85 , ,","place":["Bologna, Italy, 40129"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2020-1892","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Chiara","family":"Gualandi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"INSTM UdR of Bologna, University of Bologna, Via Gobetti 85, 40129 Bologna,","place":["Italy"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4875-3816","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Beatrice","family":"Fraboni","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Bologna , , Viale Berti Pichat 6\/2 , ,","place":["Bologna, Italy, 40127"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0458-7836","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Maria Letizia","family":"Focarete","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Bologna , , Via Gobetti 85 , ,","place":["Bologna, Italy, 40129"]},{"name":"University of Bologna, Viale del Risorgimento 2, ,","place":["Bologna , Italy, 40136,"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2866-4717","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Catia","family":"Arbizzani","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Bologna , , Via Gobetti 85 , ,","place":["Bologna, Italy, 40129"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6051-4332","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Raffaella","family":"Carloni","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Groningen , , Nijenborgh 9 , , ,","place":["Groningen, AG, The Netherlands, 9747"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3466-2913","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Andrea","family":"Zucchelli","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"INSTM UdR of Bologna, University of Bologna, Via Gobetti 85, 40129 Bologna,","place":["Italy"]},{"name":"University of Bologna, Viale del Risorgimento 2, ,","place":["Bologna , Italy, 40136,"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5993-3388","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Tobias","family":"Cramer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Bologna , , Viale Berti Pichat 6\/2 , ,","place":["Bologna, Italy, 40127"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"316","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,16]]},"reference":[{"issue":"16","key":"2026102914080481600_cit1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1223","DOI":"10.1002\/1521-4095(200008)12:16&lt;1223::AID-ADMA1223&gt;3.0.CO;2-2","article-title":"High-Strain Actuator Materials Based on Dielectric Elastomers","volume":"12","author":"Pelrine","year":"2000","journal-title":"Adv. Mater."},{"issue":"1","key":"2026102914080481600_cit2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"628","DOI":"10.1063\/1.369418","article-title":"A Few Remarks on the Electrostriction of Elastomers","volume":"85","author":"Krakovsk\u00fd","year":"1999","journal-title":"J. Appl. Phys."},{"issue":"22","key":"2026102914080481600_cit3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"9000","DOI":"10.1021\/acs.macromol.9b01580","article-title":"Synergistic Effects of Maxwell Stress and Electrostriction in Electromechanical Properties of Poly(Vinylidene Fluoride)-Based Ferroelectric Polymers","volume":"52","author":"Qiao","year":"2019","journal-title":"Macromolecules"},{"key":"2026102914080481600_cit4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/aisy.202000282","article-title":"Review of Dielectric Elastomer Actuators and Their Applications in Soft Robots","volume":"3","author":"Guo","year":"2021","journal-title":"Adv. Intell. Syst."},{"key":"2026102914080481600_cit5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.matdes.2023.112467","article-title":"Soft Composite Actuators of Poly(Vinylidene Fluoride-Trifluoroethylene-Chlorotrifluoroethylene)-Based Nanofibers and Polydimethylsiloxane: Fabrication, Electromechanical Characterization, and Dynamic Modeling","volume":"236","author":"D\u2019Anniballe","year":"2023","journal-title":"Mater. Des."},{"issue":"17","key":"2026102914080481600_cit6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2218","DOI":"10.1002\/adma.200602644","article-title":"Electroactive Nanostructured Polymers as Tunable Actuators","volume":"19","author":"Shankar","year":"2007","journal-title":"Adv. Mater."},{"key":"2026102914080481600_cit7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.apmt.2020.100772","article-title":"Hierarchical Fibrous Structures for Muscle-inspired Soft-actuators: A Review","volume":"20","author":"Gotti","year":"2020","journal-title":"Appl. Mater. Today"},{"key":"2026102914080481600_cit8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/adfm.202411801","article-title":"Dielectric Elastomer Actuators with Low Driving Voltages and High Mechanical Outputs Enabled by a Scalable Ultra-Thin Film Multilayering Process","volume":"34","author":"Peng","year":"2024","journal-title":"Adv. Funct. Mater."},{"issue":"17","key":"2026102914080481600_cit9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"3242","DOI":"10.1002\/adfm.201100298","article-title":"Electric Actuation of Nanostructured Thermoplastic Elastomer Gels with Ultralarge Electrostriction Coeffi Cients","volume":"21","author":"Kim","year":"2011","journal-title":"Adv. Funct. Mater."},{"key":"2026102914080481600_cit10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"170701","DOI":"10.1063\/5.0079510","article-title":"Defining \u201cGiant\u201d Electrostriction","volume":"131","author":"Yu","year":"2022","journal-title":"J. Appl. Phys."},{"issue":"1","key":"2026102914080481600_cit11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"76","DOI":"10.1002\/1521-4095(200101)13:1&lt;76::AID-ADMA76&gt;3.0.CO;2-I","article-title":"Perpendicular Actuation with Individually Controlled Polymer Microactuators","volume":"13","author":"Jager","year":"2001","journal-title":"Adv. Mater."},{"issue":"18","key":"2026102914080481600_cit12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/advs.202308746","article-title":"Ionic Solvent Shell Drives Electroactuation in Organic Mixed Ionic-Electronic Conductors","volume":"11","author":"Bonaf\u00e8","year":"2024","journal-title":"Adv. Sci."},{"issue":"7","key":"2026102914080481600_cit13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"969","DOI":"10.1038\/s41563-024-01886-0","article-title":"Electrochemically Actuated Microelectrodes for Minimally Invasive Peripheral Nerve Interfaces","volume":"23","author":"Dong","year":"2024","journal-title":"Nat. Mater."},{"issue":"13","key":"2026102914080481600_cit14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"4537","DOI":"10.1021\/acs.chemmater.5c00495","article-title":"Stimuli-Responsive Conductive Polymers for Bioelectronics\u2020","volume":"37","author":"Damani","year":"2025","journal-title":"Chem. Mater."},{"issue":"6149","key":"2026102914080481600_cit15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"984","DOI":"10.1126\/science.1240228","article-title":"Stretchable, Transparent, Ionic Conductors","volume":"341","author":"Keplinger","year":"2013","journal-title":"Science"},{"issue":"10","key":"2026102914080481600_cit16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"7840","DOI":"10.1021\/am501130t","article-title":"Highly Stretchable and Transparent Ionogels as Nonvolatile Conductors for Dielectric Elastomer Transducers","volume":"6","author":"Chen","year":"2014","journal-title":"ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces"},{"issue":"1","key":"2026102914080481600_cit17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"7405","DOI":"10.1038\/s41467-025-62796-6","article-title":"Ultrasoft and Fast Self-Healing Poly(Ionic Liquid) Electrode for Dielectric Elastomer Actuators","volume":"16","author":"Wang","year":"2025","journal-title":"Nat. Commun."},{"key":"2026102914080481600_cit18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/adfm.202422905","article-title":"Long, Fibrous, and Tailorable Dielectric Elastomer Artificial Muscles via Mask-Free Stamping of Carbon Nanotube Electrodes","volume":"35","author":"Shao","year":"2025","journal-title":"Adv. Funct. Mater."},{"issue":"7","key":"2026102914080481600_cit19","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"071101","DOI":"10.1063\/1.2981642","article-title":"A Review on Dielectric Elastomer Actuators, Technology, Applications, and Challenges","volume":"104","author":"O\u2019Halloran","year":"2008","journal-title":"J. Appl. Phys."},{"issue":"1435","key":"2026102914080481600_cit20","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1038\/s41467-017-01558-5","article-title":"Electrostrictive Microelectromechanical Fibres and Textiles","volume":"8","author":"Khudiyev","year":"2017","journal-title":"Nat. Commun."},{"key":"2026102914080481600_cit21","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/aisy.202400781","article-title":"Rolled Soft Actuators Based on P (VDF-TrFE-CTFE) Electrospun Nanofibers","volume":"7","author":"Pan","year":"2025","journal-title":"Adv. Intell. Syst."},{"key":"2026102914080481600_cit22","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"89","DOI":"10.1021\/acsnano.3c09307","article-title":"Soft Fiber \/ Textile Actuators: From Design Strategies to Diverse Applications","volume":"18","author":"Xue","year":"2024","journal-title":"ACS Nano"},{"issue":"4029","key":"2026102914080481600_cit23","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.3390\/polym15194029","article-title":"From Nature to Technology: Exploring Bioinspired Polymer Actuators via Electrospinning","volume":"15","author":"Razzaq","year":"2023","journal-title":"Polymers"},{"issue":"10","key":"2026102914080481600_cit24","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1093\/nsr\/nwae232","article-title":"Emerging Innovations in Electrically Powered Artificial Muscle Fibers","volume":"11","author":"Lang","year":"2024","journal-title":"Natl. Sci. Rev."},{"issue":"4","key":"2026102914080481600_cit25","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"30","DOI":"10.1016\/S1369-7021(07)70048-2","article-title":"Polymer Artificial Muscles","volume":"10","author":"Mirfakhrai","year":"2007","journal-title":"Mater. Today"},{"key":"2026102914080481600_cit26","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.polymer.2020.122590","article-title":"One-Step Process for the Preparation of Fast-Response Soft Actuators Based on Electrospun Hybrid Hydrogel Nanofibers Obtained by Reactive Electrospinning with in Situ Synthesis of Conjugated Polymers","volume":"200","author":"Miranda","year":"2020","journal-title":"Polymer"},{"issue":"11","key":"2026102914080481600_cit27","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1180","DOI":"10.1016\/j.snb.2011.09.044","article-title":"Sensing Characteristics of a Conducting Polymer\/Hydrogel Hybrid Microfiber Artificial Muscle","volume":"160","author":"Ismail","year":"2011","journal-title":"Sens. Actuators, B"},{"issue":"1","key":"2026102914080481600_cit28","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"218","DOI":"10.1016\/j.snb.2011.04.021","article-title":"In Situ Three-Dimensional Analysis of the Linear Actuation of Polypyrrole Micro-Rod Actuators Using Optical Microscopy","volume":"156","author":"Cho","year":"2011","journal-title":"Sens. Actuators, B"},{"key":"2026102914080481600_cit29","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/adfm.201804328","article-title":"Compact Dielectric Elastomer Linear Actuators","volume":"28","author":"Zhao","year":"2018","journal-title":"Adv. Funct. Mater."},{"issue":"8","key":"2026102914080481600_cit30","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"8376","DOI":"10.1021\/acsanm.1c01590","article-title":"Atomic Force Microscopy Nanomechanics of Hard Nanometer-Thick Films on Soft Substrates: Insights into Stretchable Conductors","volume":"4","author":"Cortelli","year":"2021","journal-title":"ACS Appl. Nano Mater."},{"key":"2026102914080481600_cit31","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.matchemphys.2024.129155","article-title":"Electrochemically Responsive Nanofibers by Stimulation of a Dialkyl-Bipyridinium Molecular Switch","volume":"317","author":"Petri","year":"2024","journal-title":"Mater. Chem. Phys."},{"key":"2026102914080481600_cit32","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"17","DOI":"10.1111\/jmi.13417","article-title":"Modulated Electrochemical Force Microscopy: Investigation of Sodium-Ion Transport at Hard Carbon Composite Anodes","volume":"302","author":"Daboss","year":"2025","journal-title":"J. Microsc."},{"issue":"22","key":"2026102914080481600_cit33","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/admt.202300931","article-title":"In Situ Nanomechanical Characterization Techniques for Soft Bioelectronic Interfaces and Their Building Blocks","volume":"8","author":"Cortelli","year":"2023","journal-title":"Adv. Mater. Technol."},{"key":"2026102914080481600_cit34","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"384","DOI":"10.1186\/s11671-018-2801-1","article-title":"Temperature Effect on the Mechanical Properties of Electrospun PU Nanofibers","volume":"13","author":"Zhou","year":"2018","journal-title":"Nanoscale Res. Lett."},{"issue":"2","key":"2026102914080481600_cit35","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1007\/s00339-023-06426-2","article-title":"Mechanical and Electrochemical Properties of TiO2 Modified Polyurethane Nanofibers","volume":"129","author":"Ding","year":"2023","journal-title":"Appl. Phys. A: Mater. Sci. Process."},{"issue":"6827","key":"2026102914080481600_cit36","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"447","DOI":"10.1038\/35068522","article-title":"Giant Lateral Electrostriction in Ferroelectric Liquid-Crystalline Elastomers","volume":"410","author":"Kremer","year":"2001","journal-title":"Nature"},{"issue":"8","key":"2026102914080481600_cit37","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"4469","DOI":"10.1021\/jacsau.6c00495","article-title":"Facet-Resolved Electric Double Layer of Polycrystalline Gold","volume":"6","author":"Adnan","year":"2026","journal-title":"JACS Au"},{"issue":"16","key":"2026102914080481600_cit38","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"3097","DOI":"10.1021\/acs.jpclett.6b01342","article-title":"Speciation of Adsorbed Phosphate at Gold Electrodes: A Combined Surface-Enhanced Infrared Absorption Spectroscopy and DFT Study","volume":"7","author":"Yaguchi","year":"2016","journal-title":"J. Phys. Chem. Lett."},{"issue":"17","key":"2026102914080481600_cit39","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"6473","DOI":"10.1021\/ac071341z","article-title":"Determination of the Potential of Zero Charge of Au(111) Modified with Thiol Monolayers","volume":"79","author":"Ram\u00edrez","year":"2007","journal-title":"Anal. Chem."},{"issue":"22","key":"2026102914080481600_cit40","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"12391","DOI":"10.1021\/acs.chemrev.3c00806","article-title":"How to Assess and Predict Electrical Double Layer Properties. Implications for Electrocatalysis","volume":"124","author":"Schott","year":"2024","journal-title":"Chem. Rev."},{"issue":"4","key":"2026102914080481600_cit41","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/celc.202400587","article-title":"Influence of the Electrolyte PH on the Double Layer Capacitance of Polycrystalline Pt and Au Electrodes in Acidic Solutions","volume":"12","author":"Song","year":"2025","journal-title":"ChemElectroChem"},{"issue":"5","key":"2026102914080481600_cit42","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"55007","DOI":"10.1088\/1361-665X\/ab7947","article-title":"On a Better Understanding of the Electromechanical Coupling in Electroactive Polyurethane","volume":"29","author":"Zhang","year":"2020","journal-title":"Smart Mater. Struct."},{"issue":"1","key":"2026102914080481600_cit43","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1088\/1468-6996\/15\/1\/015008","article-title":"Atomic Force Microscopy Visualization of Hard Segment Alignment in Stretched Polyurethane Nanofibers Prepared by Electrospinning","volume":"15","author":"Sakamoto","year":"2014","journal-title":"Sci. Technol. Adv. Mater."},{"key":"2026102914080481600_cit44","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"557","DOI":"10.1038\/s41586-020-2626-9","article-title":"Electronically Integrated, Mass-Manufactured, Microscopic Robots","volume":"584","author":"Miskin","year":"2020","journal-title":"Nature"},{"issue":"28","key":"2026102914080481600_cit45","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"36727","DOI":"10.1021\/acsami.4c08459","article-title":"Subsurface Profiling of Ion Migration and Swelling in Conducting Polymer Actuators with Modulated Electrochemical Atomic Force Microscopy","volume":"16","author":"Bonaf\u00e8","year":"2024","journal-title":"ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces"}],"container-title":["ACS Applied Materials &amp; Interfaces"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/pubs.acs.org\/doi\/pdf\/10.1021\/acsami.6c15348","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"unspecified"},{"URL":"https:\/\/pubs.acs.org\/aamick\/article-pdf\/18\/42\/58200\/68883035\/am-2026-153486.pdf","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"syndication"},{"URL":"https:\/\/pubs.acs.org\/aamick\/article-pdf\/18\/42\/58200\/68883035\/am-2026-153486.pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,29]],"date-time":"2026-10-29T18:30:16Z","timestamp":1793298616000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/pubs.acs.org\/aamick\/article\/18\/42\/58200\/5452535\/Electrical-Double-Layer-Driven-Actuation-of"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,16]]},"references-count":45,"journal-issue":{"issue":"42","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,16]]},"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,28]]}},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1021\/acsami.6c15348","relation":{},"ISSN":["1944-8244","1944-8252"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1944-8244","type":"print"},{"value":"1944-8252","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,16]]}}}