Optimization of Ionic Polymer Metal Composite Fabrication via Chemical Electroless Plating Method; Actuation Application Study

In this study, ionic polymer metal composite was fabricated using the optimized chemical electroless plating (CEP) method. Bath ultra-sonication was employed to deposit the platinum ions on the nafion sheet which decreased the time of deposition from 24 h to 3 h. Morphology of the fabricated ionic polymer metal composite (IPMC) was characterized using the atomic force microscopy (AFM) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). A smooth platinum layer with the thickness of about 1 µm was deposited on the nafion sheet after one step deposition. Strain analysis also revealed high quality electrode deposition on the nafion sheet. Inductively coupled plasma (ICP) spectroscopy was utilized to measure the quantitative deposition of Pt ions on the nafion sheet through sonication process. 97.4% of the Pt ions in the solution were deposited on the nafion using the optimized CEP process. Voltage-angle and force-voltage characterizations were also employed to assess the actuation application of the fabricated IPMC.