화학공학소재연구정보센터
홈 로그인 로그아웃 연락처 사이트맵
Macromolecular Research, Vol.17, No.12, 1032-1038, December, 2009
Export Citation
The Performance of Nafion-Based IPMC Actuators Containing Polypyrrole/Alumina Composite Fillers
Jang-Woo Lee1, 2, Ji-Hye Kim1, 2, Yoon Soo Chun1, 2, Young Tai Yoo1, 2, †, and Soon Man Hong3
  • 1Artificial Muscle Research Center, Seoul 143-701, Korea
  • 2Department of Materials Chemistry and Engineering, College of Engineering, Konkuk University, Seoul 143-701, Korea
  • 3Hybrid Materials Research Center, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Seoul 136-701, Korea
E-mail:
A polypyrrole (PPy)/alumina composite filler prepared via in-situ polymerization of pyrrole on alumina particles was incorporated into Nafion® to improve the performance of ionic polymer-metal composite (IPMC) actuators. The IPMCs with the pristine PPy without alumina support did not show bending displacements superior to that of the bare Nafion-based IPMC, except at a high PPy content of 4 wt%. This result was attributed to the low redox efficiency of the PPy alone in the IPMC and may have also been related to the modulus of the IPMC. However, at the optimized filler contents, the cyclic displacement of the IPMCs bearing the PPy/alumina filler was 2.2 times larger than that of the bare Nafion-based IPMC under an applied AC potential of 3 V at 1 Hz. Even under a low AC potential of 1.5 V at 1 Hz, the displacement of the PPy/alumina-based IPMCs was a viable level of performance for actuator applications and was 2.7 times higher than that of the conventional Nafion-based IPMC. The generated blocking force was also improved with the PPy/alumina composite filler. The greatly enhanced performance and the low-voltage-operational characteristic of the IPMCs bearing the PPy/alumina filler were attributed to the synergic effects of the neighboring alumina moiety near the PPy moiety involving electrochemical redox reactions.
Keywords:ionic polymer-metal composites;actuators;polypyrrole;alumina;Nafion
  1. Shahinpoor M, Cohen YB, Simpson JO, Smith J, Smart Mater. Struct., 7, R15 (1998)
  2. Duncan AJ, Leo DJ, Long TE, Macromolecules, 41(21), 7765 (2008)
  3. Han MJ, Park JH, Lee JY, Jho JY, Macromol. Rapid Commun., 27(3), 219 (2006)
  4. Nam JD, Choi HR, Tak YS, Kim KJ, Sensor Actuat. A-Phys., 105, 83 (2003)
  5. Nguyen VK, Lee JW, Yoo YT, Sensor Actuat. B-Chem., 120, 529 (2007)
  6. Lee DY, Lee MH, Kim KJ, Heo S, Kim BY, Lee SJ, Surf. Coat. Technol., 200, 1920 (2005)
  7. Akle BJ, Bennett MD, Leo DJ, Sensor Actuat. A-Phys., 126, 173 (2006)
  8. Shahinpoor M, Kim KJ, Sensor Actuat. A-Phys., 96, 125 (2002)
  9. Chung CK, Fung PK, Hong YZ, Ju MS, Lin CK, Wu TC, Sensor Actuat. B-Chem., 117, 367 (2006)
  10. Song MK, Kim YT, Fenton JM, Kunz HR, Rhee HW, J. Power Sources, 117(1-2), 14 (2003)
  11. Moon GY, Rhim JW, Macromol. Res., 15(4), 379 (2007)
  12. Moon GY, Rhim JW, Macromol. Res., 16(6), 524 (2008)
  13. Uchikoshi T, Furumi S, Suzuki TS, Sakka Y, J. Ceram. Soc. Jpn., 114, 55 (2006)
  14. Yang XM, Dai TY, Lu Y, Polymer, 47(1), 441 (2006)
  15. Skaarup S, West K, Gunaratne LMWK, Vidanapathirana KP, Careem MA, Solid State Ion., 136-137, 577 (2000)
  16. Enikov ET, Seo GS, Sensor Actuat. A-Phys., 122, 264 (2005)
  17. Chen CY, Garnica-Rodriguez JI, Duke MC, Dalla Costa RF, Dicks AL, da Costa JCD, J. Power Sources, 166(2), 324 (2007)
  18. Jiang ZY, Zheng XH, Wu H, Pan FS, J. Power Sources, 185(1), 85 (2008)
  19. Byun SC, Jeong YJ, Park JW, Kim SD, Ha HY, Kim WJ, Solid State Ion., 177(37-38), 3233 (2006)
  20. Shahinpoor M, Kim KJ, Smart Mater. Struct., 10, 819 (2001)