Performance enhancement of IPMC actuator by plasma surface treatment

IPMC (ionic polymer metal composite) is composed of ionic polymer and metal electrodes on both surfaces of the polymer. In this study, we changed the surface morphology of the ionic polymer by using plasma treatment. Plasma treatment made needle-shaped microstructures on the surface of the polymer and the microstructures helped to form a thicker uniform metal electrode which is deposited by electroless plating on both sides of the polymer. We observed the actuating properties of IPMC such as displacement, force and lifetime by using the laser displacement measurement system and the load cell. Then we evaluated the enhanced characteristics of an IPMC actuator. Oxygen (the chemical etching gas) and argon (the physical etching gas) were used as the plasma source gas and the oxygen plasma resulted in higher performance.