title: Ionic polymer-metal composite actuators obtained from radiation-grafted cation- and anion-exchange membranes.
abstract: Two series of ionic polymer-metal composites (IPMCs), one cationic and one anionic, are designed and prepared from radiation-grafted ion-exchange membranes. Through examination of the properties of the membranes synthesized from the two grafting monomers and the two base polymers, acrylic acid-grafted poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) and quarternized 4-vinylpyridine-grafted poly(ethylene-co-tetrafluoroethylene) with the appropriate amount of ionic groups are employed for the fabrication of cation and anion IPMCs, respectively. The bending displacement of the cation IPMC is comparable to Nafion-based IPMC under direct- and alternating-current voltage, but back-relaxation is not observed. The actuation performance of the anion IPMC is highly improved over those reported earlier in the literature for the other anion IPMCs.
authors.affiliation: Photo-Electronic Hybrids Research Center, Korea Institute of Science and Technology , Seoul 136-791, Korea.
authors.forename: Jong Hyuk
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Man Jae
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Dae Seock
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Jae Young
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Jho
keywords: actuator; electroactive polymer; ion-exchange membrane; ionic polymer−metal composite; radiation grafting