Sulfonated poly(styrene-b-ethylene-co-butylene-b-styrene) and fullerene composites for ionic polymer actuators.

Ionic polymer-metal composite (IPMC) actuators employing sulfonated poly(styrene-b-ethylene-co-butylene-b-styrene) (SSEBS) ionomer and fullerene-C60 composite membrane were developed. Due to the poor electroactive performance of IPMC actuators employing pure SSEBS, fullerenes as the reinforcement agent are incorporated. The bending responses under both direct current (DC) and alternating current (AC) excitations were investigated. Compared with the actuator based on pure SSEBS, the tip displacement of IPMC actuator based on Fullerene-SSEBS composites has great improvement under DC excitations, and also the responses are quick and harmonic under AC excitations. More meaningful improvement is that Fullerene-SSEBS based IPMC actuators don't have back relaxation towards the cathode under DC activation for a long time. SEM study was carried out on the samples of Fullerene-SSEBS actuators. Platinum layers were finely synthesized on the interfaces of Fullerene-SSEBS actuators. Present results show that the fullerene, C60, can be successfully applied to reinforce the electro-mechanical properties of the ionic polymer metal composite actuators.