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Dr. Mohsen Shahinpoor
Ionic Polymer Conductor Composite Materials as Distributed Nanosensors,
Nanoactuators and Artificial Muscles - A Review |
| Dr. Mohsen Shahinpoor is a UNM Regents Professor for Life (Emeritus) in
both the School of Engineering and the School of Medicine Neurological Surgery Division,
where he serves as Research Professor of Surgery and Director of Artificial Muscles Research
Institute (AMRI, www.unm.edu/~amri). He is also currently
the Chief Scientist and Director of Biomedical Products Development at Environmental Robots Inc.
(www.environmental-robots.com). |
| In this seminar a summary of the fundamental properties and
characteristics of Ionic Polymeric-Conductor (Metal) Composites (IPCC’s and IPMC’s) as
distributed biomimetic nanosensors, nanoactuators and artificial muscles is first presented.
This summary will include descriptions of the basic materials’ molecular structure, sulfonyl
fluoride vinyl ether (SFVE) copolymerization with tetrafluoroethylene (TFE) to form the basic
material resin and subsequent hydrolysis to manufacture the basic material for chemical plating
and electroactivation. Further described are chemical molecular plating technologies to make
IPCC’s and IPMC’s, nanotechnologies of manufacturing and trapping of nanoparticles, SEM, TEM,
SPM, and AFM characterization of IPCC’s and IPMC’s, biomimetic sensing and actuation characterization
techniques, electrical characterization and equivalent circuit modeling of IPCC’s as electronic
materials, and manufacturing of 3-D artificial muscles from IPCC’s and IPMC’s. A phenomenological
model of the underlying sensing and actuation mechanisms in IPMC’s is next discussed. This
modeling is based on linear irreversible thermodynamics with two driving forces, an electric field
and a solvent pressure gradient and two fluxes, electric current density and the solvent flux.
Finally, a number of potential industrial, engineering and medical applications of ionic
polymeric-metal composites (IPMC’s) as distributed biomimetic nanosensors, nanoactuators and
artificial muscles is presented. |
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