• Elastomers and Composites
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.40-43
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• 2010

In this study, polyimide(PI) nanofibers mats were prepared by electrospinning and three different fiber morphologies of random, uniaxial, and biaxial orientation were prepared by controlling the speed of drum-shaped collector and other parameters. The SEM studies reveal that the aforesaid morphologies were obtained on the nano-fibrous mats prepared. The ionic conductivity was measured using an in-plane type conductivity tester for the PI mats soaked in the mixture of 1M lithium trifluoro-methane-sulfonate and tetra-ethylene glycol dimethyl ether. The ionic conductivity was surprisingly higher for the biaxial PI mats. For the uniaxially-oriented mats, the ionic conductivity was found to be higher in the parallel direction compared to the perpendicular direction of the fiber orientation. A curious cyclic fluctuation was found in the ionic conductivity with time. The observed behavior was explained by considering the distance between fibers and transport speed of ions used in this study.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.486-493
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• 2012

Photocurable sulfonated polyimide (SPI) polyelectrolyte containing chalcone group was prepared and fabricated on an alumina electrode pretreated with chalcone-containing silane-coupling agent. SPI films with bis(tetramethyl)ammonium 2,2'-benzidinedisulfonate ($Me_4N$-BDS)/4,4'-diaminochalcone (DAC)/pyromellitic dianhydride (PA)= 90/10/100 possessed very linear response(Y = -0.04528X+7.69446, $R^2=0.99675$) and showed resistance changing from 4.48 to $2.1k{\Omega}$ between 20 and 95 %RH. The response time for absorption and desorption measurements between 33 and 94 %RH% was about 79 s, which affirmed the high efficiency of crosslinked SPI film for rapid detection of humidity. A negative temperature coefficient showing $-0.49%RH/^{\circ}C$ was found and proper temperature compensation should be considered in future applications. Moreover, pretreatment of the substrates with chalcone-containing silane-coupling agent was performed to improve the water durability and the stability of the humidity sensors at a high humidity and a high temperature and long-term stability for 480 h. The crosslinked SPI films anchored to electrode substrate could be a promising material for the fabrication of efficient humidity sensors with superior characteristics compared to the commercially available sensors.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.22-28
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• 2015

This study demonstrates a polyimide nerve cuff electrode with a conductive polymer for improving recording signal quality at peripheral nerve. The nerve cuff electrodes with platinum (Pt), iridium oxide (IrOx), and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene): p-toluene sulfonate (PEDOT:pTS) were fabricated and investigated their electrical characteristics for improving recorded nerve signal quality. The fabricated nerve cuff electrodes with Pt, IrOx, and PEDOT:pTS were characterized their impedance and CDC by using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and cyclic voltammetry. The impedance of PEDOT:pTS measured at 1 kHz was $257{\Omega}$, which was extremely lower than the value of the nerve cuff electrodes with IrOx ($15897{\Omega}$) and Pt ($952{\Omega}$), respectively. Furthermore, the charge delivery capacity (CDC) of the nerve cuff electrode with PEDOT:pTS was dramatically increased to 62 times than the nerve cuff electrode with IrOx. In ex-vivo test using extracted sciatic nerve of spaque-dawley rat (SD rat), the PEDOT:pTS group exhibited higher signal-to-interference ratio than IrOx group. These results indicated that the nerve cuff electrode with PEDOT:pTS is promising for effective implantable nerve signal recording.