• The Transactions of the Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers C
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• v.51 no.9
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• pp.455-463
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• 2002

Ionic Polymer metal composite(IPMC), one of new actuation materials of EAPs is fabricated by electroless plating of platinum on both sides of the perfluorosulfonic acid film or Nafion film and its electromechanical characteristics are investigated. The IPMC strip bends towards anode under electrical field. As the number of plating cycle increases, the distance between plated platinum electrodes on both sides of Nafion membrane decreases and also the displacement is almost inversely proportional to the number of plating. The displacement of IPMC strip depends on voltage magnitude and applied signal frequency and its maximum deformation is observed at a critical frequency, resonant frequency. Low pressure sandblasting is used for surface treatment of Nafion membrane and at 8 times of plating cycle produced actuator with high displacement performance. For more efficiency of fabricated IPMC, it is useful to add one or two surface developing step which is the second reduction process using hydrazine.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.302-307
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• 2007

In this paper, a flap valve micropump with an ionic polymer-metal composite (IPMC) actuator was designed, fabricated, and experimentally characterized. A multilayered IPMC based on Nafion/layered silicate and Nafion/silica nanocomposites was fabricated for the actuation section of the micropump. The IPMC diaphragm, a key element of the mircopump, was designed so that the IPMC actuator was supported by a flexible polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) structure at its perimeter. This design feature enabled a significantly high displacement of the IPMC diaphragm. The overall size of the micropump is $20{\times}20{\times}5$ ${mm}^3$. Water flow rates of up to 760 ${\mu}l$/min and a maximum backpressure of 1.5 kPa were recorded. A significant advantage of the proposed micropump is its low driven voltage from only 1-3 V. In addition, a simple and effective design, and an ease of manufacturing are other advantages of the present micropump.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.380-384
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• 2005

Fluoroalkyl methacrylate and acrylic acid were bulk radical copolymerized in the presence of pure sodium montmorillonite or macromer intercalated sodium montmorilonite to get a fluorinated acrylic ionomer/sodium montmorillonite composite, and their physical properties, such as X-ray diffraction pattern, tensile properties, and water uptake, were examined. These composites were used to preparean ionic acrylic polymer-platinum composite (IPMC). The current and deformation responses of these IPMCs by external voltage applied across the platinum electrodes deposited on both sides of IPMC showed that the cation migration from anode to cathode was suppressed in the presence of sodium montmorillonite, causing reduced current and deformation.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Information and Commucation Sciences Conference
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• 2013.05a
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• pp.531-533
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• 2013

In this paper, to study the IPMC (Ionic exchange Polymer Metal Composite) material consisting of a sulfonic acid ion and fluoride combination of carbon with Nafion film greatly affected the electro-active polymer (Electro Active Polymer) characteristics and the presence of water and cationshave properties. Use or electrical energy into mechanical energy, mechanical energy, electrical energy, and can be utilized to its characteristics, depending on the water and cations in water varies greatly. Configure the device simulations in order to study the electrical properties of these IPMC. Stepper Motor using MCU and simulator designed for the electrical characterization due to the movement and to the implementation of the mechanical movement of ocean currents. In this study, configuration the IPMC and simulation device to the area of the IPMC to the efficient use of energy currents, frequency, salinity concentration, through the efficient use of the IPMC due to the bend angle of the electrical analysis and research methods we propose.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.375-381
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• 2011

Ionic polymer-metal composite(IPMC) consists of an ion conductive membrane plated by metallic electrodes on both surfaces. When it bends, a voltage is generated between two electrodes. Since IPMC is flexible and thin, it can be easily mounted on the various surfaces of a body. The present study investigates a sensor system using IPMC to effectively detect the bending angles applied on IPMC sensor. The paper evaluates several R and C circuit models that describe the physical composition of IPMC and selects the best model for the detection of angles. The circuit models implemented with a charge model describe the relationship between input bending angles and output voltages. The identification of R and C values was performed by minimizing the error between the real output voltages and the simulated output voltages from the circuit models of IPMC sensor. Then the output signal of a sensor was fed into the inverse model of the identified model to reproduce the bending angles. In order to support the validation of the model, the output voltages from an arbitrary bending motion were also applied to the selected inverse model, which successfully reproduced the arbitrary bending motion.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.553-565
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• 2017

Structural modeling of unencapsulated ionic polymer metal composite (u-IPMC) actuators that are used for flapping the insect scale-flapping wing of micro air vehicles (FMAV) in dry environmental conditions is carried out. Structural modeling for optimization of design parameters for retention of water, maximize actuation performance and to study the influence of water activity on the actuation characteristics of u-IPMC is explored for use in FMAV. The influence of equivalent weight of Nafion polymer, cations, concentration of cations, pre-treatment procedures on retention of water of u-IPMCs and on actuation parameters, flapping angle, flexural stiffness and actuation displacement are investigated. IPMC designed with Nafion having equivalent weight 900-1100, pre-heated at $30^{\circ}C$ and with sodium as the cations is promising for optimum retention of water and actuation performance. The actuation parameters while in operation in dry and humid environment with varying water activity can be tuned to desirable frequency, deflection, flap angle and flexural stiffness by changing the water activity and operational temperature of the environment.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.17 no.12
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• pp.1032-1038
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• 2009

A polypyrrole (PPy)/alumina composite filler prepared via in-situ polymerization of pyrrole on alumina particles was incorporated into $Nafion^{(R)}$ to improve the performance of ionic polymer-metal composite (IPMC) actuators. The IPMCs with the pristine PPy without alumina support did not show bending displacements superior to that of the bare Nafion-based IPMC, except at a high PPy content of 4 wt%. This result was attributed to the low redox efficiency of the PPy alone in the IPMC and may have also been related to the modulus of the IPMC. However, at the optimized filler contents, the cyclic displacement of the IPMCs bearing the PPy/alumina filler was 2.2 times larger than that of the bare Nafion-based IPMC under an applied AC potential of 3 Vat 1 Hz. Even under a low AC potential of 1.5 V at 1 Hz, the displacement of the PPy/alumina-based IPMCs was a viable level of performance for actuator applications and was 2.7 times higher than that of the conventional Nafion-based IPMC. The generated blocking force was also improved with the PPy/aiumina composite filler. The greatly enhanced performance and the low-voltage-operational characteristic of the IPMCs bearing the PPy/alumina filler were attributed to the synergic effects of the neighboring alumina moiety near the PPy moiety involving electrochemical redox reactions.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.32 no.10
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• pp.865-871
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• 2015

This study was conducted in order to develop a finger exoskeleton system using ionic polymer metal composites (IPMCs) as the actuator and sensor in a hybrid structure. To use the IPMC as an actuator producing large force, a first order transfer function was obtained using results from a block force for DC excitation that applied to two IPMCs of 20mm-width, 50mm-length, and 2.4mm thickness together. After which the validation of 200gf control with anti-windup PI controller was confirmed. A 5mm-width, 50mm-length, 0.6mm-thickness of IPMC was also modeled as a sensor for tip displacement. As a result, the IPMC sensor could been utilized as a trigger role for the actuator. Finally, an IPMC sensor and actuator were installed on the joint of a single DOF exoskeleton in the hybrid structure, and test for the control of 40gf of block force and predefined sequence of motion was performed.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.112-120
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• 2003

The composite of ionic polymer and metal has been fabricated and used for actuators. Platinum is deposited by electroless plating method onto the both sides of ionic polymer where ac voltage is applied. This results in the bending motion of a beam type actuator. In this paper, the fabrication method of ionic polymer-metal composite has been explained and the moving mechanism has been fabricated and measured using the ionic polymer-metal composite actuator. The moving mechanism is wireless type and the power is supplied through the rail electrodes in base plate. The maximum speed of the moving mechanism was about 24cm/min.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2014.02a
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• pp.386.1-386.1
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• 2014

The ionic polymer-metal composite (IPMC), a type of electro-active polymer material, has received enormous interest in various fields such as robotics, medical sensors, artificial muscles because it has many advantages of flexibility, light weight, high displacement, and low voltage activation, compare to traditional mechanical actuators. Mostly noble metal materials such as gold or platinum were used to form the electrode of an IPMC by using electroless plating process. Furthermore, carbon-based materials, which are carbon nanotube (CNT) and reduced graphene-CNT composite, were used to alter the electrode of IPMC. To form the electrode of IPMC, we employ the synthesized graphene on copper foil by chemical vapor deposition method and use the transfer process by using a support of PET/silicone film. The properties of graphene were evaluated by Raman spectroscopy, UV/Vis spectroscopy, and 4-point probe. The structure and surface of IPMC were analyzed via field emission scanning electron microscope. The fabricated IPMC performance such as displacement and operating frequency was measured in underwater.