Simultaneous Enhancement of Bending and Blocking Force of an Ionic Polymer-Metal Composite (IPMC) by the Active Use of Its Material Characteristics Change
Hirohisa Tamagawa,
Kazuki Okada,
Titus Mulembo,
Minoru Sasaki,
Keishi Naito,
Gakuji Nagai,
Takahiro Nitta,
Khai-Chun Yew,
Kota Ikeda
Affiliations
Hirohisa Tamagawa
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Gifu University, 1-1 Yanagido, Gifu, Gifu 501-1193, Japan
Kazuki Okada
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Gifu University, 1-1 Yanagido, Gifu, Gifu 501-1193, Japan
Titus Mulembo
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Gifu University, 1-1 Yanagido, Gifu, Gifu 501-1193, Japan
Minoru Sasaki
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Gifu University, 1-1 Yanagido, Gifu, Gifu 501-1193, Japan
Keishi Naito
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Gifu University, 1-1 Yanagido, Gifu, Gifu 501-1193, Japan
Gakuji Nagai
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Gifu University, 1-1 Yanagido, Gifu, Gifu 501-1193, Japan
Department of Mechanical and Material Engineering, UTAR Sungai Long Campus, Jalan Sungai Long, Bandar Sungai Long, Cheras, Kajang 43000, Selangor, Malaysia
Kota Ikeda
Graduate School of Advanced Mathematical Sciences, Meiji University, 4-21-1, Nakano, Nakano-ku, Tokyo 165-8525, Japan
The exhibition of significantly large bending is a remarkable characteristic of an ionic polymer-metal composite (IPMC). However, its inability to generate a high enough force is a major problem in achieving a practical IPMC actuator. The simultaneous enhancement of bending and force generation is needed for broadening the potential of the IPMC actuator as a practical engineering device. Corrosive materials as a flexible electrode of the IPMC is usually not preferred, whereas a noncorrosive material such as platinum is broadly used. Here, we used silver, a corrosive metal, as an IPMC electrode intentionally. The silver electrode exhibits a reversible redox reaction upon an external electric stimulation. That silver redox reaction resulted in the material characteristics change of the IPMC, and it consequently resulted in the simultaneous enhancement of the IPMC bending curvature and blocking force generation. It was further found that the thicker silver coating anchored into the far inside of the IPMC led to the occurrence of a significant silver redox reaction and it altered the material characteristics of the IPMC, consequently turning the IPMC into a greatly deformable and high force generative one.
