The purpose of this work is to improve the operational characteristics of actuators based on ionic polymer-metal composites (IPMC) by improving their manufacture technology. The optimal thickness of the ion-exchange membrane was determined. The technology of metal electrode deposition, the composition of actuator electrolyte solution and the storage method of actuators were optimized.

The actual problem of microrobotic is creating of low cost energy-efficient actuator for mobile microsystems, which are able to simulate the movement of biological objects. In this article, designed and fabricated experimental samples of ionic polymer-metal composite (IPMC) actuators are presented. Highresolution SEM was used to control the electrode thickness and structure. Method of focused ion beam was used to study the structure of IPMC. Precision sample sections were obtained using focused ion beam. Platinum electrodes consist of two distinct layers of the platinum particles differing in morphology. The distribution of the platinum particles in the depth of the membrane was investigated by X-ray microanalysis. Atomic force microscopy was used for the characterization of surface morphology of IPMC.

Flexible polymer-based actuators, often also called artificial muscles, are an essential part of biomimetic systems that mimic the movement principles of animal world creatures. The most used electrode material to force the actuator move is an ensemble of noble metal nanoparticles in the electroactive polymer surface. Noble metal electrodes have enough electrical conductivity and elasticity and are not subjected to oxidation. However, high cost of such electrodes and their tendency to cracking dictate the need for searching other materials, primarily carbon ones. The review considers several options for this search. For example, carbon nanotubes and graphene have excellent properties at the level of a single individually taken nanotube or graphene sheet. However, conservation of these properties in structurally imperfect film electrodes requires a separate study. In addition, there are problems of compatibility of such electrodes with the polymers that requires cumbersome technologies, e.g., hot pressing, which complicates the production of the actuator as a whole. The review concerns the technology options of manufacturing actuators and the results obtained on their basis, both including hot pressing and avoiding this procedure. In particular, the required level of the graphene oxide reduction in hydrazine provides sufficient adhesion at rather high electrical conductivity of the graphene film. The ability to simultaneous achieving these properties is a nontrivial result, providing the same level of actuation as with expensive noble metal electrodes. Actuators that additionally require greater lifetime resource should be obtained in other ways. Among them are using the graphdiyne electrodes and laser processing of the graphene electrodes.

We present a novel model for semiquantitative estimation of optimal concentrations of silver modifier necessary to increase the conductivity of graphene electrodes in actuators with electroactive...

The electro-mechanical model of ionic polymer-metal composite (IPMC) is presented in this paper. Applied electric field moves mobile ions inside the polymeric membrane. As a result, the electroosmotic flow inside the material appears and the subsequent motion of actuator occurs. These physical effects are modelled with the help of the finite element analysis software.

The article is devoted to the development and creation of a multiphysics simulator that can, on the one hand, simulate the most significant physical processes in the IPMC actuator, and on the other hand, unlike commercial products such as COMSOL, can use computing resources economically. The developed mathematical model is an adjoint differential equation describing the transport of charged particles and water molecules in the ion-exchange membrane, the electrostatic field inside, and the mechanical deformation of the actuator. The distribution of the electrostatic potential in the interelectrode space is located by means of the solution of the Poisson equation with the Dirichlet boundary conditions, where the charge density is a function of the concentration of cations inside the membrane. The cation distribution was obtained by means of the solution of the equation system, in which the fluxes of ions and water molecules are described by the modified Nernst-Planck equations with boundary conditions of the third kind (the Robin problem). The cantilever beam forced oscillation equation in the presence of resistance (allowing for dissipative processes) with assumptions of elasticity theory was used to describe the actuator motion. A combination of the following computational methods was used as a numerical algorithm for the solution: the Poisson equation was solved by a direct method, the modified Nernst-Planck equations were solved by the Newton-Raphson method, and the mechanical oscillation equation was solved using an explicit scheme. For this model, a difference scheme has been created and an algorithm has been described, which can be implemented in any programming language and allows for fast computational experiments. On the basis of the created algorithm and with the help of the obtained experimental data, a program has been created and the verification of the difference scheme and the algorithm has been performed. Model parameters have been determined, and recommendations on the ranges of applicability of the algorithm and the program have been given.