• Transactions of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering
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• v.18 no.12
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• pp.1310-1316
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• 2008

Bi-layer and tri-layer structures of electro-active paper(EAPap) using conductive polyaniline(PANI) coating were investigated to improve bending displacement of cellulose EAPap. Two different counter ions, perchlorate($CIO_4^-$) and tetrafluoroborate($BF_4^-$), are used as dopant ions in the PANI processing. The actuation performances of hi-layer and tri-layer structure are evaluated in terms of tip displacement, blocked force, strain energy density and power output density. The actuation performance of the tri-layer actuator was better than the hi-layer structure, and the maximum displacement and blocked force of tri-layer $CIO_4^-$ doped-PANI-EAPap were 13.2 mm and 0.15 mN, respectively. Also the power output of the actuator is similar to the required power of biological muscle application.

• Elastomers and Composites
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• v.56 no.2
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• pp.57-64
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• 2021

This paper reviews recent developments and applications of dielectric elastomers (DEs) and suggests various techniques to improve DE properties. DEs as smart materials are a variety of electro-active polymers (EAPs) that convert electrical energy into mechanical energy and cause a large deformation when a voltage is applied. The dielectric constant, modulus, and dielectric loss of DEs determine the efficiency of deformation. Among these, the dielectric constant significantly affects their performance. Therefore, various recent approaches to improve the dielectric constant are reviewed, including the enhancement of polarization, introduction of microporous structures in the matrix, and introduction of ferroelectric fillers. Furthermore, the basic principles of DEs are examined, as well as their various applications such as actuators, generators, sensors, and artificial muscles.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.36 no.12
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• pp.1497-1502
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• 2012

To manufacture a robot hand that essentially mimics the functions of a human hand, it is necessary to develop flexible actuators and sensors. In this study, we propose the design, manufacture, and performance verification of flexible actuators and sensors based on Electro Active Polymer (EAP). EAP is fabricated as a type of film, and it moves with changes in the voltage because of contraction and expansion in the polymer film. Furthermore, if a force is applied to an EAP film, its thickness and effective area change, and therefore, the capacitance also changes. By using this mechanism, we produce capacitive actuators and sensors. In this study, we propose an EAP-based capacitive sensor and evaluate its use as a robot hand sensor.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.471-477
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• 2006

Ion exchange metal composite(IPMC) has toughness equivalent to the range of human's muscle, transformation-actuation force by relatively low voltage and the fast response time. Thus, as a new method for preparing thicker IPMC, the solution casting method to make the films of various thicknesses out of liquid nation was attempted in this study. To reduce the surface resistance of electrode, the first plated electrode prepared by Oguro method was replated with Au and Ir using ion beam assisted deposition(IBAD). The microstructures of electrode surfaces before and after IBAD plating were investigated using SEM. The change of water and ion-conductivity in IPMC were measured under applied voltage. The displacement and driving force of IPMCs with various thicknesses were measured to evaluate the driving properties.

• Journal of the KSME
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• v.44 no.6
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• pp.48-52
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• 2004

과거 10여 년 간 Electro-Active Polymer(EAP) 분야는 큰 변형을 낼 수 있는 지능재료들이 출현함에 따라 인공근육을 만들 수 있는 가능성으로 인해 많은 관심이 모아지고 있다. EAP는 외부의 자극에 따라 큰 변위를 생성할 뿐만 아니라 근육과 같이 탄력성이 있는, 다른 재료기술들이 낼 수 없는 특성과 성능을 가지고 있다. EAP가 갖는 생체근육과 같은 작동을 할 수 있는 가능성은 곧 공상과학의 꿈을 이루고자하는 희망을 갖게 하며 인류의 문명발전에 크게 기여할 것이다. EAP는 차세대 마이크로 로봇, 오락산업 또는 초소형 비행체의 구동과 같은 인공근육 작동기의 응용분야를 창출하고 있다. EAP 작동기의 응용성은 폭넓으며 새로운 기술혁신의 기대를 불러 일으키고 있다. (중략)

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.59-64
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• 2007

Star-shaped, nonlinear optical (NLO) material was synthesized and its optical, thermal, and electro-optic properties were investigated. Three NLO-active dipolar chromophores containing a phenylene ring substituted with a bulky alkyl chain as a conjugation bridge were chemically bonded to the core of 1,1,1-tris(4-hydroxyphenyl)ethane to form a dendritic architecture. The chemical structure and purity of the chromophore were verified by NMR spectroscopy. The chromophore exhibited a broad absorption band centered at around 608 nm tailing up to 760 nm in toluene solution and also showed a discernible solvatochromic shift in more polar solvent. The chloroform solution of the dendrimer produced an absorption band with a red-shifted maximum as large as 28 nm when compared to that of the toluene solution. It was thermally stable up to $275^{\circ}C$ in a nitrogen atmosphere and had a glass transition temperature of $76^{\circ}C$. In a preliminary result, the polymer film containing the dendritic compound exhibited a shift of 19 pm/V taken at $1.55{\mu}$.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.586-590
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• 2006

As one of electro active polymers for soft smart materials, the ionic polymer metal composites (IPMC) are easy to produce through chemical reduction processing and show high displacements at low voltage. When the IPMC actuates, the deformation depends on a few factors including the structure of based membrane, species and morphology of the metal electrodes, the nature of cations and the level of hydration. As previously published, we have been studying on improvement of actuation through surface electrode modification of IPMC to grasp the effect of electrode morphology on actuation. This study is comparative experiments through the chemical reaction and deposition by ion beam assisted deposition (IBAD) in order to prepare the very thin and homogeneous surface electrode of IPMC. The IPMCs were prepared with different surface roughness of polymer membrane, and the influence of the surface roughness on the actuation was studied. By investigating the electrical properties and driving displacement, the actuating properties of IPMC with different surface roughness were studied.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2016.02a
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• pp.423.1-423.1
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• 2016

Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) has drawn much attention due to its many advantages. PVDF shows high mechanical strength and flexibility, thermal stability, and good piezoelectricity enabling its application to various fields such as sensors, actuators, and energy transducers. Further studies have been conducted on PVDF in the form of thin films. The thin films exhibit different ionic conductivity according to the number of pores within the film, letting these films to be applied as electrolytes or separators of batteries. Porous PVDF membranes are also easily processed, usually made by using electrospinning. However, a large portion of researches were conducted using PVDF membranes produced by far field electrospinning, which is not a well-controlled experimental method. In this paper, we use near field electrospinning (NFES) process for more controlled, small-scaled, mesh type PVDF structures of nano to micro fibers fabricated by controlling process parameters and investigate the properties of such membranous structures. These membranes vary according to geometrical shape, pore density, and fiber thickness. We then measured the mechanical strength and piezoelectric characteristic of the structures. With various geometries in the fiber structures and various scales in the fibers, these types of structures can potentially lead to broader applications for stretchable electronics and dielectric electro active polymers.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.624-629
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• 2006

The cellulose-based, Electroactive Paper (EAPap) has recently been reported as a smart material with the advantages of lightweight, dry condition, biodegradability, sustainability, large displacement output and low actuation voltage. However, it requires high humidity.. This paper introduces an EAPap made with a cellulose solution and lithium chloride (LiCl), which can be actuated in room humidity condition. The fabrication process, performance test and effect of LiCl content of the EAPap actuator are illustrated. The bending displacement of the EAPap actuators was evaluated with actuation voltage, frequency, humidity and LiCl content changes. At a LiCl/ cellulose content of 3:10, the displacement output was maximized at a room humidity condition. Even though the displacement output was less than that of a high humidity EAPap actuator, the mechanical power output was not reduced due to the increased resonance frequency, which is promising for developing EAPap actuators that are less sensitive to humidity.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2008.11a
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• pp.1558-1562
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• 2008

Ionic polymer metal composite (IPMC), one of Electro- Active Polymer (EAP) actuators, has great attention due to the low-voltage driven, large deformation and its potential for artificial muscles. In this paper, we firstly review fish swimming modes using various propulsion mechanisms. Based on study on the swimming mechanisms, we develop an underwater robot actuator which mimics fanning motion of webfoot form. It consists of four actuators fabricated by using IPMC and PDMS which mimics Bio-inspired motion Experiments using a prototype show that the webfooted IPMC actuator generates large deformation and propulsion.