Modeling of the electromechanical response of ionic polymer metal composites (IPMC)

Micromechanical model has been developed on the electromechanical response of ionic polymer metal composites (IPMC). The response function based on the physico-chemical properties of the polymer electrolytes and metals is developed and is applied to that under the control of the electric potential. In the model, the response is attributed to two main effects. One is the electrokinetic effect, that is, the dragged water associated with the flow of counter ion causes the stress in the polymer electrolyte gel. The other is the effect due to the interfacial stress between the polymer electrolyte gel and the electrode. The response under the controls of the electric voltage is formulated as a function of the material parameters. The electromechanical experiments of the IPMC were carried out and their results were compared with the simulation results which were calculated from the response function. The theoretical model can successfully apply to the experimental results, especially to the dependence on the difference of various factors such as ionic charge, ionic conductivity, electrode capacitance, dimension of the ionic polymer, etc.