ELECTROACTIVE POLYMERS

A SEMINAR REPORT
Submitted by,

KIRAN PAULSON

In partial fulfilment for the award of the degree of

BACHELOR OF TECHNOLOGY
In
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

Department of Chemical Engineering

Amal Jyothi College of Engineering, Kanjirappally

November 2019
 ELECTROACTIVE POLYMERS

SEMINAR REPORT
Submitted by,

KIRAN PAULSON

Department of Chemical Engineering,

Amal Jyothi College of Engineering, Kanjirappally

I
 Certificate

This is to certify that this seminar report titled

ELECTROACTIVE POLYMERS is a bona fide record of the
work done by KIRAN PAULSON (AJC16CH041) in partial
fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the degree
Bachelor of Technology in Chemical Engineering of the A.P.J
Abdul Kalam Kerala Technological University, Kerala during
the year 2019-2020.

Ms REETHU SUSAN VARGHEESE

Guide

Prof. (Dr). DAVID K DANIEL

Head of Department

II
 Declaration

I hereby declare that this report is my original work and it has

been written by me in its entirety. I have duly acknowledged all
the sources of information which have been used in the report.

This report has not been submitted in any university previously.

KIRAN PAULSON

III
 Acknowledgement

The success and final outcome of this seminar report requires a

lot of guidance and assistance from many people and I am
extremely privileged to have got this along the completion of my
seminar presentation. First of all, I thank God almighty for his
immense grace and mercy that enabled me in the finalization of
the report It’s my privilege and pleasure to express my deep
sense of gratitude to the Chemical Engineering department, of
Amal Jyothi College of Engineering for providing me an
opportunity to present my work on “ELECTROACTIVE
POLYMERS”.

I owe my deep gratitude to my guide Ms REETHU SUSAN

VARGHEESE (Asst. Prof. Department of Chemical
Engineering), who took keen interest on my seminar work and
guided me all along, her constructive criticisms, advices,
valuable support and constant encouragement was the drive for
the course of seminar and its presentation.

I, on this occasion, remember the valuable suggestions and

prayers offered by my family members and friends which were
inevitable for the successful completion of my work.

.
IV
 ABSTRACT

Electroactive polymers are a field of material that demonstrates

large strain in response to electrical fields. These actuators
closely emulate the stimulus response capacities of animal
muscle and so are often referred to as artificial muscles. The
development of highly electroactive polymer materials with
actuation strains as high as 300% has sparked a wave of research
and development into the capacities of EAP materials for various
fields. A nonexhaustive list of potential EAP material
applications includes biomimetics such as artificial muscles,
active catheters, and biomimetic robots, tactile displays such as
refreshable braille devices, and unmanned vehicles including
aerial, underwater, and aerospace devices. EAP materials are
largely classified into two categories: ionic and electric. Ionic
EAP’s involve the diffusion of ions, whereas electric EAP’s are
driven by an electric field. Examples of ionic EAP’s include
ionic polymer metal composites, carbon nanotubes, ionic
polymer gels, conductive polymers, and electrorheological fluid.
Electric EAP can be further divided into piezoelectric polymers,
electro strictive polymers, dielectric elastomers, liquid crystal
elastomers, and ferroelectric polymers. The following paper
thoroughly investigates the history, theory, and current and
future applications for the aforementioned types of EAP’s, and
hypothesizes on the role this actuator technology could play in
the future.

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V
 Contents Page no
1. Introduction 1
2. Microstructure and Composition 2
3. Conduction principle 3
4. Types of Electroactive polymers 6
4.1. Ionic Electroactive polymers 6
4.2. Electronic Electroactive polymers 7
5. Manufacturing Techniques 8
5.1 Initial composting 9
5.2 Surface electroding 10
6. Actuation principle 11
7. Factors affecting actuation 14
7.1 Counter ion species 14
7.2 Hydration 15
7.3 Frequency 15
7.4 Potential 15
7.5 Temperature 16
7.6 Platinum penetration and dispersion 16
8. Advantages of EAP 17
9. Applications of EAP 17
9.1 EAP actuating a dust wiper in NASA 17
mission
9.2 Linear actuators 18
9.3 Artificial EAP heart 19
9.4 Heart compression device 20

.
VI
10. Conclusion 22
11. References 22

List of figures Page no

1. Nafion structure 2
2. Freeform fabricated silicone well 9
3. Initial composting 10
4. Surface electroding 11
5. IPMC material 11
6. Schematic diagram of Actuation principle 13
7. Effects of cations 14
8. EAP Dust wiper 18
9. Platform Actuator 18
10. Flow of energy in an Artificial heart 19
11.General configuration of heart compression 20
device
12. Heart Compression device equipped with 21
IPMC fingers

.
VII
1. INTRODUCTION

EAP materials are polymers that change size or shape in

response to electrical stimulation. The most desirable property of
EAP’s is large deformations in response to relatively small input.
The concept of EAP materials was first demonstrated in 1880 by
Wilhelm Roentgen, when he applied charges to a rubber band
with a fixed end and a free end with a mass attached. In 1899,
M.P. Sacerdote further progressed the field of research in the
area with his formulation of the strain response to electric field
activation. In 1925, the field was further developed with the
discovery of electret, a piezoelectric polymer made by the
cooling of carnauba wax, rosin, and beeswax, which were then
subjected to a DC bias field. EAP materials became of interest
again in 1969 after the discovery of piezoelectricity in
polyvinylidene fluoride. However, it was not until the 1990s that
research into EAP materials started to improve, making it a
promising technology with apparently limitless applications.
Before this time, while EAP materials existed as evidenced by
the associated history previously discussed, their use was
restricted due to the relatively low strains generated. However, a
new wave of research was energized by breakthroughs in the
1990s that produced EAP materials with higher strain
capabilities. As a result, EAPs have been developed that are
capable of obtaining over 300% strain. This powerful actuation
potential as well as the beneficial properties of polymers- the
ability to be formed into various shapes, flexibility, and
resilience- has opened the door for EAP to be applied in diverse
ways

1
2. MICROSTRUCTURE AND COMPOSITION

The bending actuator is composed mainly of per fluorinated ion

exchange membrane metallic composite backbone called ionic
polymer metallic composite or IPMC (0.18 micrometre). IPMC
have commercial name Nafion. The ionomer background or
matrix is coated on both sides with metallic electrodes made of
noble metals such as Pt, Au. It is then neutralized with a certain
amount of counter ions such as monovalent cations of alkali
metals such as Li +, Na+, K+, Rb+. A finishing layer of gold is
provided to increase surface conductivity. It is then fully
solvated. The most common used solvent is water but we can
also use organic solvents like ethylene glycol and glycerol. An
IPMC has to be kept moist continuously for long working and it
is done by providing a polysilicon coating.

.
2
 Fig 1. Nafion structure

3. CONDUCTION PRINCIPLE

The source of conductivity in EAPs relies on the characteristic

electronic structure of the extended π-bound system, consisting
of a series of alternating single(σ) and double(π) bonds along the
polymer chain. The planar arrangement and the alignment of the
pz orbitals allow overlapping between the two double bonds. The
unpaired electrons (i.e., π-electrons or one of the unbonded p-
electrons of the heteroatom) are delocalized over the full length
of the polymer backbone. Since the electrons in the π-bonds are
less strongly bonded than the electrons in the σ-bonds, they can
be more easily removed from the bonds, thus favouring chemical
attacks. This also suggests that conjugated compounds have the
potential to display either semiconducting or metallic behaviour.
The electrical conduction and, thus, the ability of a material to
pass current defines the conductivity of a material. Based on
electrical conduction measured at 25˝C, materials were generally
classified in: insulators, semiconductors and conductors.
polymers, which can be enhanced by the so-called “doping”
process, in analogy with what occurs for semiconductors. It is
well known that conducting polymers are not usually conductive
in the basic form and doping of the π-conjugated backbone
results in a highly conducting state of the polymer.

.
3
 The extended conjugated system provides a semiconducting
characteristic to conjugated polymers, which can be enhanced by
the so-called “doping” process, in analogy with what occurs for
semiconductors. It is well known that conducting polymers are
not usually conductive in the basic form and doping of the π-
conjugated backbone results in a highly conducting state of the
polymer. An easier understanding of doping-induced changes in
electronic structure can be obtained by referring to the band
theory.

It is noted that the energy difference (Eg) between the highest

occupied band (valence band) and the lowest unoccupied band
(conduction band) is the band gap indicative of the conductive
character of material. The reduction of the Eg enhances the
access to the conduction band, thus increasing the number of
charge carriers. This behaviour is provided by doping conjugated
polymers though a hopping mechanism mediated by dopant
molecules to polymer chains. In particular, the extraction of
electrons from the valence band (p-doping) generates ‘positive
charged holes’ in the electronic structure, while adding electrons
to the conduction band (n-doping) generates a negative charge.
In both cases a possible charge mobility of electrons is created,
so the conductivity is enhanced. Differently from inorganic
semiconductors, conjugated polymers have a structure flexibility
which allows them to locally distort to neutralize the generated
charge. The introduced local charge defects in polymers are
identified as polarons, bipolarons and solitons depending on the
nature of the deformation. In particular, when an electron is
removed (or added), a radical cation (or anion) called a polaron
.
4
is created, and it can be converted into a bipolaron if a second
electron is removed (added). Conversely, a soliton (neutral
radical) is generated in conjugated polymers with degenerate
ground states such as trans-polyacetylene. In order to preserve
charge neutrality, a mass transport between the polymer and an
electrolyte due to a variation of ionic charge is required. Thus,
once a charge is generated in the polymer backbone, a counter-
ion acting as a dopant must be present to balance the total
charge. When the polymer is oxidized (owning a positive charge)
it incorporates anions, and when reduced (owning a negative
charge) it incorporates cations or expels anions. Among several
factors influencing the conductivity of polymers, the type and
concentration of dopant and synthesis methods are the most
incident.

For p-doping, which is mostly performed on EAPs, several

dopants are commonly used such as strong inorganic
hydrochloric acid (HCl), aromatic and sulfonic acids, and
amphiphilic dopants containing different aromatic substitutions.
Comparative studies on the effect of different types of dopants
on the properties of polyaniline (PANI) have been reported. In
the conductive emeraldine form, PANI was generally doped by
exposure to protonic acids. Studies on different protonation
percentages (between 10% and 90%) demonstrated that as the
doping level is increased, the conductivity increases and
becomes weaklier dependent upon the temperature. By choosing
a suitable dopant, other important properties of EAPs such as
solubility, processability, and moisture absorption can be
improved. For example, in order to process the poorly soluble
.
5
PANI in organic solvents, an organic aliphatic acid with a long
chain length (i.e., lauric acid) can be used. Alternatively,
aromatic dopants reduce the moisture adsorption in PANI,
probably due to the bulky size of the rigid benzene ring that
hinders the bond formation of the water molecule with the back-
bone nitrogen. On the other hand, these larger dopants cannot
increase conductivity. Hence, the choice of the more appropriate
dopant to be used is a function of the material’s required
demands. The doping process can be realized through various
methods: chemical doping, electrochemical doping, photo-
doping, charge injection doping, non-redox doping and
secondary doping. The process of doping occurs after and/or
during the synthesis of conductive polymers, and the most
widely used techniques are chemical and electrochemical
methods. Synthesis conditions (temperature, solvent and water
content, oxidation and pH environment, etc.) have a strong effect
on the conductivity and properties of polymers (i.e., mechanical
properties and surface morphology). This does not always allow
us to obtain reliable and reproducible chemical synthesis. Hence,
electrochemical synthesis is often preferred because it offers
easier procedures, allowing the preparation of a series of doped,
conducting polymers, free-standing homogeneous and self-doped
films, and thus copolymers and grafts. It is worth noting that
doping serves to improve not only the electric performance, but
also the mechanical manageability of the material, which, when
unmodified, is insoluble and hardly processable due to its rigid
conjugated structure.

4. Types of Electroactive polymers

.
6
4.1 Ionic electroactive polymers

The benefit of using ionic EAPs is the low voltage required for
actuation. The material itself has mobile ions within the polymer
phase that can be influenced by an electric field. This electric field
either pulls ions into a region of the material (causing swelling), or
pushes them out of a region (causing contraction). The voltages
required for this are low (1-7 [V]), but the resulting energies are
high because of the small spacing between the ions and electric
charges. Ionic EAPs have also shown difficulty in sustaining their
displacements. A subdivision of ionic EAPs are carbon nanotube
(CNT) actuators. These materials are known for their remarkably
high tensile modulus (~640 [GPa]) and tensile strength (20 - 40
[GPa]). These properties are observed for individual CNTs,
however, and current manufacturing technology restricts assembly
of CNTs to yarns or sheets, which ultimately lowers their
performance. When an electric field is applied to the CNT, an
effect similar to that of the electronic EAPs occurs. However,
instead of two electrodes interacting, it is all the charges that were
injected into the Nanotube that are attracting and repelling.

4.2 Electronic electroactive polymers

The primary benefit of electronic EAPs is the large strain

(upwards of 40% strain) they can obtain. However, these massive
strains require large amounts of voltage, which could be an issue
depending on how the artificial muscle is used. (It is important to
note that the actual driving force of the actuator is the electric
field produced by the voltage. This comes into play when looking
at dielectric design.) A subdivision of electronic EAPs is
Dielectric Elastomer Actuators (DEAs). These actuators are
.
7
capacitors with very sensitive electrodes and a dielectric film.
When a voltage is applied to the DEA, the electrodes cause both
an attraction of opposite charge and a repulsion of like charge
across the dielectric. This generates stress in the dielectric and
causes it to compress. “The key to large strain is to make both the
electrodes and the elastomer highly compliant without sacrificing
dielectric strength and conductivity.” This stress and resulting
strain eventually lead to the work per unit volume per stroke of
the actuator. A breakthrough in DEA design came from the
insight that while voltages are required in the use of electronic
EAPs, it is the electric field produced by the voltage that actually
drives the actuation. Through either increasing dielectric constant,
or by using thinner sheets of elastomer, the same electric field can
be maintained while also reducing the required voltage. The DEA
shown is comprised of multiple layers of DEAs rolled into tubes.
This allows the multiple DEAs to apply their actuation forces in
parallel, summing to one large force.

5. Manufacturing techniques

The preparation of ionic polymer metallic composites (IPMC’s)

requires involved laboratory work. The current state of the art of
IPMC manufacturing technique incorporates two distinct
preparation processes:

 Initial compositing process

 Surface electroding process

Rectangular silicone wells with size 1cm by 3cm by 2-5mm is

used as containers for IPMC fabrication. It is deposited onto glass
.
8
microscopic slides. We use a multiple material freeform
fabrication system with Cartesian gantry positioning system and
multiple changeable deposition tools. A low vapour pressure
solvent (N-N- dimethyl formamide) is added to the ionomer
dispersion to help control cracking on drying.

Fig 2. Freeform fabricated silicone well

5.1 Initial composting process

It is to metallize the inner surface of polymer by a chemical

reduction process. Ionic polymer is soaked in salt solution of a
complex salt Pt (NH3)4HCl to allow platinum containing cations
to diffuse through via the ion exchange process. A proper
reducing agent such as LiBH4 or NaBH4 is introduced to
metallize the polymer by a chemical reduction means. The
metallic platinum particles are not homogeneously formed across
the membrane but concentrate predominantly near the interface
boundaries. It has been experimentally observed that the platinum
particulate layer is buried microns deep (typically 1–20 µm)
within the IPMC surface and is highly dispersed.

The primary reaction for platinum composites is:

.
9
LiBH4 + 4[Pt (NH3)4]2+ + 8OH- ==> 4Pt + 16NH3 + LiBO2 +
6H2O

Fig 3. Schematic showing initial composting process(left) Top

view SEM micrograph(right)

5.2 Surface electroding process

In the subsequent surface electroding process, multiple reducing

agents are introduced (under optimized concentrations) to carry
out the reducing reaction similar to previous equation in addition
to the initial platinum layer formed by the initial compositing
process. The roughened surface disappears. Platinum will deposit
predominately on top of initial Pt layer. Other metals which are
also successfully used include palladium, silver, gold, carbon,
graphite etc: - After the upper electrode material is deposited and
allowed to air dry, the glass slide is placed in an oven and
annealed at 7000C for 45minutes. The silicone well is filled with
deionized water for 30 minutes to saturate the IPMC. The device
is lifted from the well with tweezers and tested. To maintain the
actuation capability of IPMC, the material needs to be kept moist
continuously providing the media that is necessary for ion
.
10
mobility that is responsible for actuation. Without coating
material, the IPMC can work in air for less than 5 minutes. So, a
low modulus poly silicon coating is applied to the surface to trap
the solvent inside IPMC.

Fig 4. Schematic showing surface electroding process(left) and

Top view SEM micrograph where platinum has deposited
predominantly over the initial Pt layer (Right)

Fig 5. IPMC material in its well(top) and after hydration and

removal (bottom)

6. Actuation principle

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11
The electrical-chemical-mechanical response of the IPMCs
depends on the neutralizing cation, the nature and the degree of
solvent saturation, the electrode morphology, and the chemical
structure of the ionomer backbone. When a strip of solvated
Nafion based IPMC sample is subjected to an electric potential of
several volts (1-3 V) across its faces, it bends towards the anode.
The speed and magnitude of this actuation towards the anode
depends on the type of solvent. The actuation towards the anode
is relatively slow with ethylene glycol comparing to water, and it
is comparatively much slower with glycerol than with water or
ethylene glycol as solvents. For Nafion-based IPMCs with alkali
metals as counter ions, the actuation towards the anode is
followed by a slow back relaxation towards the cathode. The
back-relaxation speed also depends on the type of solvent. The
duration of the back-relaxation phase can vary, from less than
about 60 seconds (e.g., with most alkali metals and with water), to
about 300 seconds (e.g., in K+ form with ethylene glycol), and to
about 2000 seconds (e.g., in Na+-form with glycerol). The sample
eventually reaches an equilibrium state (while the electric
potential is still on), which is generally different from its initial
equilibrium position. When an external voltage is applied on an
IPMC film, it causes bending towards the anode. The IPMC strip
bends due to these ion migrations induced hydraulic actuation and
redistribution. Nafion IPMC has the ability to absorb considerable
amount of water, which increases the cations mobility and
conductivity. The cations will get hydrated while the anions
sulfonate (SO3-) group remains fixed to the polymer matrix. When
a voltage (1-3V) is applied the hydrated cations will move
towards the cathode side. The swelling or expansion at the
.
12
cathode side results due to the increase in volume at the cathode
side of IPMC, as a result of the transfer of hydrated cations. This
swelling is followed by a slow back relaxation towards cathode.
This is because that the weak bonds associated with the hydrated
cations break after prolonged exposure to the applied electric field
causing the inherent ‘relaxation.’ This will cause the re-
orientation of the cations in the boundary layer. Finally, the EAP
will come to an equilibrium position.

Fig 6. Schematic diagram of the typical IPMC and its

actuation principle

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13
7. Factors affecting actuation

7.1. Counter ion species

For neutralizing counter ions, we have used Li+, Na+, K+ and

Rb+. The properties of the bare ionomer as well as that of IPMC
change with the cation type for the same membrane. It has been
shown that using Li+ as cationic base we can get greater
displacement and force density per volt.

Fig 7. Effects of various cations on the actuation of IPMC

.
14
7.2 Hydration

The speed and magnitude of the actuation towards the anode

depends on the type of solvent. The actuation towards the anode
is relatively slow with ethylene glycol comparing to water, and it
is comparatively much slower with glycerol than with water or
ethylene glycol as solvents.

7.3 Frequency

Its frequency dependence shows that as frequency increases the

beam displacement decreases. However, it must be realized
that, at low frequencies (0.1–1 Hz), the effective elastic modulus
of the IPMC cantilever strip under an imposed voltage is also
rather small. On the other hand, at high frequencies (5–20 Hz)
such moduli are larger and displacements are smaller. This is due
to the fact that at low frequencies water and hydrated ions have
time to gush out of the surface electrodes while at high
frequencies they are rather contained inside the polymer.

7.4 Potential

The deflection increases as voltage is increased and reaches

saturation as the voltage rises. Under an AC voltage, the film
undergoes swinging movement and the displacement level
depends not only on the voltage magnitude but also on the
frequency. Generally, activation at lower frequencies (down to
0.1 or 0.01 Hz) induces higher displacement and it reaches
saturation as the voltage increases.

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15
7.5 Temperature

Recent tests of the performance of the ionomers at low

temperatures showed that while the response decreases with
temperature, a sizeable displacement was still observed at the
temperature of -140ᵒC. This displacement decrease can be
compensated by increasing the voltage and it is interesting to
point out that, at low temperatures, the response reaches
saturation at much higher voltage levels. The deflection level and
the consumed power for the ionomer films was tested at both
room temperature and -100ᵒC. Tests of the current as a function
of voltage response indicate that the resistance rises with the
decrease in temperature, which is in contrast to the behaviour of
metals and conductive materials.

7.6 Platinum penetration and dispersion

Deeper the platinum penetration lower is the surface resistance

and greater is the force density. The incipient particles coagulate
during the chemical reduction process. One can then realize that
there is a significant potential for controlling this process in
terms of platinum particle penetration, size and distribution. This
could be achieved by introducing effective dispersing agents
(additives) during the chemical reduction process. One can
anticipate that the additives should enhance dispersal of platinum
particles within the ionic polymer and thus reduce coagulation.
As a result, a better platinum particle penetration in the polymer
with a smaller average particle size and more uniform
distribution could be obtained. This uniform distribution makes it
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16
more difficult for water to pass through. Thus; the water leakage
out of the surface electrode could be significantly reduced.

8. Advantages of EAP

 Soft and flexible, hence find wide application in bio-

medical field
 EAP’s can be mass produced. Hence it results in low cost.
 EAP’s can be easily fabricated in various shapes.
 Inherent vibration damping.
 Lighter compared to other actuators and sensors.
 Response speed is significantly higher.
 Superior fatigue characteristics
 Large actuation strains
 Can withstand extreme conditions esp. up to -1400ᵒC.This
suits EAP in planetary applications

9. Applications of EAP

9.1 EAP actuating a dust wiper in NASA mission

Using a bending EAP material, a dust-wiper has been produced

for the NASA/NASDA MUSES-CN mission. This dust-wiper is
being developed for the infrared camera window of the mission's
Nano rover. The MUSES-CN mission is a joint effort between
NASA and the Japanese Space Agency, to explore the surface of
a small near-Earth asteroid. The team is testing the use of highly
effective ion-exchange membrane metallic composites (IPMC)
made of perfluoro carboxylate-gold composite with two types of
cations, tetra-n butylammonium and lithium. Under a potential
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17
difference of less than 3-V, these IPMC materials are capable of
bending beyond a complete circle. The use of highly effective
IPMC materials, mechanical modelling, unique components and
a protective coating increases the probability of success for the
EAP actuated dust-wiper.

Fig 8. Schematic view of EAP dust wiper

9.2 Linear actuators

Linear actuators can be made of IPMC’s to produce a variety of

robotic manipulators including platform type or parallel platform
type. Also, multiple degrees of freedom of motion can be
obtained by controlling each IPMC with a robotic controller.

Fig 9. Platform actuator driven by eight IPMC’s

9.3 Artificial EAP heart
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18
 In the natural heart, the outer container and energy conversion
element is, on a macroscopic scale, a single tissue - myocardium
- with embedded blood supply and conduction system. The
natural heart gets its energy from the working fluid. While the
function of the natural heart can be modulated by neurohormonal
signals, it is capable of operating and responding on its own. The
traditionally designed electromechanical heart passes energy
from a storage element (usually a battery) to an electronic
controller, which in turn activates an electric motor, solenoid, or
similar electrical-to-mechanical element. The motor applies
forces to the blood pump through a linkage such as a cam, screw
or hydraulic pump. The blood pump itself is passive. One of our
goals in the Electro active Polymers program is to develop
pumps in which, as in the natural heart, the container that holds
the blood is contractile, thus integrating energy conversion,
actuation and structure into one part of the system.

Fig 10. Flow of energy in natural heart and an artificial

heart of traditional design

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19
9.4 Heart Compression device

These devices are made for heart patients with heart

abnormalities associated with cardiac muscle functions. In
particular ionic polymeric metal composite (IPMC) biomimetic
sensors, actuators and artificial muscles integrated as a heart
compression device which can be implanted external to the
patient’s heart, and partly sutured to the heart without contacting
or interfering with the internal blood circulation. Thus, the
potential IPMC device thereby can avoid thrombosis and similar
complications, which are common to current artificial heart, or
heart-assist devices, which may arise when the blood flow makes
repeated contacts with non-biological or non-self surfaces. The
device is implanted essentially in the ribcage of the patient but is
supported on a slender flexible stem that extends to the abdomen.

Fig 11. General configuration of heart compression device

In figure 21, 42 is the patient body, 44 is the abdomen area, 46 is

the rib-cage, 5 is the heart, 3 is the polymeric compression finger
made with IPMC’s, 30 is the base of the compression device, 10
.
20
is a slender conduit carrying the electronic wires to the muscle
and acting as a flexible support column as well and 12 is the
power/microprocessor housing placed in the abdomen.

Fig 12. Heart Compression device equipped with IPMC

fingers

Again in Fig 22, 3 denotes the compression fingers made with

IPMC’s, 5 is the heart itself, 4 depicts an encapsulated enclosure
filled with water to create a soft cushion for the compression
fingers, 4d are IPMC-based sensor cilia to continuously monitor
the compression forces applied to the heart and 3e and 3f are the
associated wiring and electronics.

10. Conclusion

Smart materials such as EAP’s are the foundation of current

state-of-the-art devices to convert energy from chemical or
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21
electrical into mechanical energy to perform useful work. In the
field of sensing, these devices can provide an efficient way of
converting mechanical energy into electrical or chemical forms.
This seminar had summarized efforts on a number of potential
applications of ionic polymer– metal composite that have proven
to be a viable alternative to conventional means. Electroactive
polymers have emerged with great potential enabling the
development of unique biomimetic devices. As artificial muscles,
EAP actuators are offering capabilities that are currently
considered science fiction. Developing such actuators is
requiring development on all fronts of the field infrastructure.
Enhancement of the performance of EAP will require
advancement in related computational chemistry models,
comprehensive material science, electro-mechanics analytical
tools, and improved material processing techniques Making
robots that are actuated by EAP, as artificial muscles that are
controlled by artificial intelligence would create a new science
and technology realities. While such capabilities are expected to
significantly change future robots, significant research and
development effort is needed to develop robust and effective
EAP-based actuators

11. References

 Ansari, R. (2006). Polypyrrole Conducting Electroactive

Polymers: Synthesis and Stability Studies, 3(4), 186–201.
 Cardoso, V. F., & Ribeiro, C. (2017). Metamorphic
biomaterials. Bioinspired Materials for Medical
Applications. Elsevier Ltd.

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 Polyaromatic, O., & Jose, S. (n.d.). Electrochemistry and
Electrode Applications of Electroactive / Conductive
Polymers.
 Bar-Cohen, Y. (2002). Electroactive Polymers as Artificial
Muscles: A Review Introduction, 39(6).
 Guarino, V., Zuppolini, S., Borriello, A., & Ambrosio, L.
(2016). Electro-Active Polymers (EAPs): A Promising
Route to Design Bio-Organic / Bioinspired Platforms with
on Demand Functionalities.
 Air, N., & Division, W. (2014). Electro-active polymer
(EAP) coatings for corrosion protection of metals.
https://doi.org/10.1533/9780857096883.2.328
 Bashir, M., & Rajendran, P. (2018). A review on
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