Ionic polymer-metal composites: Fabrication, modeling and experimentation

Ionic Polymer-Metal Composites (IPMCs) are a new class of active materials that are capable of both actuation and transduction. Under a low voltage input, an IPMC will exhibit a fast bending motion towards one of its electrodes. If subjected to an applied stress, an IPMC will also engender a small voltage. IPMCs are potential actuators for many engineering applications and processes. The material itself, however, is still under extensive investigation in terms of its mechanical properties and fabrication processes. The overall performance of an IPMC is dependent upon many parameters including electrical properties of material. An equivalent circuit model is presented to account for the variable electric surface properties of the material. Experimental investigations are also performed in a low temperature environment to investigate unique behavior of the IPMC. IPMCs have great potential in the field of soft actuation and biomimetics, and several possible applications are discussed as well.