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Ionic Polymer-Metal Composites (IPMC) have various applications in the fields of soft robotics as actuators [1], energy conversion as ion exchange membrane in Fuel cells [2], Biomedical engineering for drug delivery [3] etc. Nafion ionomer plated with a noble metal (such as platinum) is being used successfully as actuators for soft robotic applications [1,4] and recently Aquivion [5] has been explored and proven to be a good candidate to replace Nafion.
As ion exchange membrane in Fuel cells, a stable sulfonated silica-based ionomer has been proposed as a replacement for Nafion, which has a dual function as this material has shown to have a higher active surface area of platinum and have increased the performance of fuel cells. These membranes have shown stable performance with improved water management capabilities at low relative humidity, while Nafion based membranes have performed poorly. [6] With this inspiration and the aforementioned advantages we propose to study and investigate the application of sulfonated silica-based membrane to prepare IPMC actuators for soft robots. Based on the positive results these IPMC’s have provided for fuel cell performance, we expect encouraging results for actuation such as higher actuation forces, durability, higher water retainment etc. which would benefit and promote soft robotics. [1,6]
References:
1. James D. Carrico, Tom Tyler & Kam K. Leang (2017) A comprehensive review of select smart polymeric and gel actuators for soft mechatronics and robotics applications: fundamentals, freeform fabrication, and motion control, International Journal of Smart and Nano Materials, 8:4, 144-213, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/19475411.2018.1438534.
2. Tao Luo, Said Abdu & Matthias Wessling (2018) Selectivity of ion exchange membranes: A review, Journal of Membrane Science 555, 429–454. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.memsci.2018.03.051
3. Saneei Mousavi, M., Karami, A., Ghasemnejad, M., Kolahdouz, M., Manteghi, F., & Ataei, F. (2018). Design of a remote-control drug delivery implantable chip for cancer local on demand therapy using ionic polymer metal composite actuator. Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials., 86, 250-256. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmbbm.2018.06.034.
4. Mohsen Shahinpoor and Kwang J Kim (2001) Ionic polymer-metal composites: I. Fundamentals, Smart Materials and Structures, volume 10, number 4, 819-833. http://stacks.iop.org/0964-1726/10/i=4/a=327.
5. Sarah Trabia and Zakai Olsen and Kwang J Kim (2017) Searching for a new ionomer for 3D printable ionic polymer–metal composites: Aquivion as a candidate, Smart Materials and Structures, volume 26, number 11, 115029, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-665X/aa919f.
6. Reza Alipour Moghadam Esfahani, Holly M. Fruehwald, Foroughazam Afsahi, E. Bradley Easton (2018) Enhancing fuel cell catalyst layer stability using a dual-function sulfonated silica-based ionomer, Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, Volume 232, 314-321, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apcatb.2018.03.080.
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