Prolonged Working Time in Air of Ionic Polymer-Metal Composite Actuators with Polyethylene Oxide*

Abstract

Current ionic polymer-metal composite (IPMC) always shows large attenuation and short working time in air because of cracks in metal electrodes and water leakage. In order to address this problem, a feasible and effective solution has been proposed to enhance IPMC performance operating in air by doping polyethylene oxide (PEO) in this study. The investigation of physical characteristics of blending membranes varying PEO contents of 200k molecular weight revealed that PEO/Nafion membrane with 20 wt% PEO exhibited a high water uptake ratio and homogeneous internal structure. Influences of PEO contents on electromechanical properties of IPMCs were performed and shown that the IPMCs with 20 wt% PEO presented the largest peak-to-peak displacement and prolonging stable working time.