Proposal for the Operation Model of Ionic Polymer Actuators Including Saturated Ionic Liquid

Abstract

Various operation models of ionic polymer actuators have been reported. In ionic polymer actuators including saturated ionic liquid, we discovered the phenomenon that a liquid exuded from a cathode during the voltage application. We can't explain this phenomenon using the reported operation models so far, because other studies have reported on the movement of the ion, but they have not focused on liquid movement. Here, we investigated the behavior of ionic liquid during the voltage application. We observed not only the liquid movement but also size of the course and the movement properties. From these results, we confirmed that cations and anions of ionic liquid moved to a cathode by the electroosmotic flow and propose this as a new operation model.

Self-Deformable Flexible MEMS Tweezer Composed of Poly(Vinylidene Fluoride)/Ionic Liquid Gel for Electrical Measurements and Soft Gripping

“…An IPMC actuator is composed of polymers and mobile ions (cations and anions) and is equipped with electrodes. Theories that have been proposed to explain the deformation of IPMCs when voltage is applied are based on the size difference [15], the diffusion speed of ions [16], or the one-directional movement of ions [17]. In all these studies, the actuators deflected to one side when voltage was applied.…”