Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
7891244 | Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing | 2016 | 9 Pages |
Abstract
The cost-effective and high-performance ionic polymer-metal composites (IPMC) were designed and prepared from ion-exchange membranes based on sulfonated poly(ether ether sulfone) (SPEES) with different degrees of sulfonation (DS). The precursor of SPEES, namely PEES, is commercially available and industrial grade. Moreover, the PEES can be transformed easily into ion-conductive SPEES through a simple sulfonation reaction. The ion exchange capacity (IEC) and water uptake (WU) of SPEES membranes increase with increasing their DS, and the proton conductivities of these hydrated SPEES membranes are subsequently enhanced. Compared with the commercial Nafion ion-exchange membrane, the SPEES membranes have higher IEC and WU. The IPMC actuators made of the SPEES membranes show the large bending strain and fast response under electric stimulation. The SPEES membrane with the highest DS (SPEES4) shows the best performance of IPMC actuators. The electromechanical behaviors of these IPMC actuators indicate that the SPEES is a candidate to substitute Nafion.
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Materials Science
Ceramics and Composites
Authors
Zhigang Xue, Yongjun Tang, Xiaoling Duan, Yunsheng Ye, Xiaolin Xie, Xingping Zhou,