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| 27. August 2001 |  | Ionomeric Polymer-Metal Composites as Artificial Muscles |
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ReferentInnen:
| | Prof. Sia Nemat-Nasser, University of California San Diego, Center of Excellence for Advanced Materials |
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Ort:
| | EMPA, Dübendorf |
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Inhalt:
| | Ionomeric polymer-metal composites (IPMCs) are soft actuators and sensors often referred to as "artificial muscles". They generally consist of a thin polyelectrolyte membrane, plated on both faces by some noble metal, generally platinum with a layer of finishing gold, and neutralized with necessary amount of counter-ions, balancing the charge of anions covalently fixed to the membrane. When a thin strip of an IPMC membrane in the hydrated state is stimulated by an application of a small (1V) alternating potential, it undergoes a bending vibration at the frequency of the applied voltage, generally no more than a few tens of Hertz. When the same membrane is suddenly bent, a small voltage of the order of millivolts is produced across its faces. Hence, IPMCs can serve as soft actuators and sensors. In addition, the ionomer membrane when properly plated may be used to develop a room-temperature fuel cell that can convert chemical energy to electrical energy. Thus, it is possible to create a soft bio-mimetic device that is able to "metabolize food (e.g., methanol)" to make electrical energy and then convert this energy to mechanical energy and to move it. In Prof. Nemat-Nassers laboratories at UCSD, a systematic experimental and modeling characterization of these composites under various conditions have been pursued. Based on these studies, potential nano-scale coupled electrical-chemical-mechanical mechanisms responsible for the observed behavior of the materials are identified and mathematically modeled. Examples of the model results will be presented for illustration.
Leiterin EMPA Akademie
Dr. Anne Satir
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