Ionic Polymer-Metal Composite and its Actuation Characteristics

Compared to piezoelectric materials and fiber optics, ionic polymer-metal composite (IPMC) is a relatively new smart material. IPMC, also known as ionic conducting polymer gel film (ICPF), was initially found in fuel cell research. In the early 1990’s, Sadeghipour et al. (1992) found the sensing ability of ionic polymer. Later, the converse process of charge storage mechanism associated with fuel cell, i.e., actuation capacity, was found by Oguro et al. (1992). Ever since then, ionic polymer has been attracting more and more attention from researchers.