Study on Electrochemical and Response Characteristics of Genipin‐Crosslinked Chitosan‐Based Biogel Actuator

ABSTRACT A flexible dual‐component biogel actuator, composed of chitosan and Genipin‐crosslinked nanocomposite, is developed with a simple, sustainable, and environmentally friendly fabrication process. This actuator demonstrates significant advancements in performance, with remarkable improvements in mechanical and electrochemical properties. The study systematically investigates the effect of Genipin concentration on the actuator's output force, deflection displacement, and capacitance, revealing that a 0.1 wt% crosslinking concentration leads to a 2.68‐fold increase in output force (2.93 mN) and a 2.11‐fold increase in deflection displacement (8.36 mm). The capacitance also increases by 25.41%, reaching 0.12705 F g −1 . Furthermore, the actuator's fatigue life was evaluated under repeated bending cycles, showing that the addition of Genipin significantly enhances its operational lifespan. Compared to pure chitosan, the fatigue life of the actuator with 0.1 wt% Genipin increased by 65.9%, and force fluctuations were reduced, resulting in more stable actuation. However, excessive Genipin (0.5 wt%) led to a decrease in the actuator's output force and service lifespan, highlighting the importance of optimizing the crosslinking concentration. These findings underscore the actuator's potential for diverse applications in soft robotics, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), and wearable devices, marking a step forward in the development of environmentally friendly, high‐performance actuators for flexible and responsive systems.