ABSTRACT
IPMCs, or ionic polymer conductor nanocomposites (IPCNCs), are chemically plated ionic polymers manufactured by oxidationreduction (REDOX) operations with a noble metal, such as platinum or gold, to keep them biocompatible. Refer to a seminal publication by Shahinpoor, Kim, and Mojarrad (2007) for a comprehensive coverage of various properties and applications of such materials. For more information on modeling of IPMCs see Shahinpoor (2000), de Gennes, Okumura, Shahinpoor, and Kim (2002), Shahinpoor (2003, 2005, 2008 and 2009) and Shahinpoor and Kim (2002). For information on manufacturing IPMCs see Shahinpoor, Kim, and Mojarrad (2007) and Kim and Shahinpoor (2005). For medical and industrial applications of IPMCs see Shahinpoor and Kim (2005). The basic material is commonly ionic Teflon with relatively few fixed ionic groups. Once an electric field is imposed on such a network, the conjugated and hydrated cations rearrange to accommodate the local electric field, and thus the network deforms, and in the simplest of cases such as in thin-membrane sheets, spectacular bending is observed (Fig. 5.1) under small electric fields such as tens of volts per millimeter. Typical experimental deflection curves are depicted below in Figs. 5.2 and 5.3. Once an electric field is imposed on an IPMC cantilever, in the cantilever polymeric network the hydrated cations migrate to accommodate the local electric field. This creates a pressure
gradient across the thickness of the beam, and thus the beam undergoes bending deformation (Fig. 5.4) under small electric fields such as tens of volts per millimeter. Figure 5.4 depicts typical force and deflection characteristics of cantilever samples of ionic polymer metal nanocomposite (IPMNC) artificial muscles.
