• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2015.08a
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• pp.232.2-232.2
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• 2015

Piezoelectric force microscopy (PFM) is a powerful method to characterize inversed piezoelectric effects directly using conductive atomic force microscopy (AFM) tips. Piezoelectric domains respond to an applied AC voltage with a characteristic strain via a contact between the tip and the surface of piezoelectric material. Electroactive piezoelectric polymers are widely investigated due to their advantages such as flexibility, light weight, and microactuation enabling various device features. Although piezoelectric polymers are promising materials for wide applications, they have the primary issue that the piezoelectric coefficient is much lower than that of piezoelectric ceramics. Researchers are studying widely to enhance the piezoelectric coefficient of the materials including nanoscale fabrication and copolymerization with some materials. In this report, nanoscale electroactive polymers are prepared by the electrospinning method that provides advantages of direct poling, scalability, and easy control. The main parameters of the electrospinning process such as distance, bias voltage, viscosity of the solution, and elasticity affects the piezoelectric coefficient and the nanoscale structures which are related to the phase of piezoelectric polymers. The characterization of such electroactive polymers are conducted using piezoelectric force microscopy (PFM). Their morphologies are characterized by field emission-scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) and the crystallinity of the polymer is determined by X-ray diffractometer.

• Proceedings of the Membrane Society of Korea Conference
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• 2008.05a
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• pp.3-3
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• 2008

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 2003.06a
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• pp.709-712
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• 2003

The existing technical limitation makes engineer imitate nature to solve engineering problems. Recently Micro Air Vehicle(MAV) imitating the mechanism of birds or insects is being developed. Especially Ultra Flite supported by DARPA is studying hummingbird aerodynamics to relate that information to MAV. To drive MAV bender piezoelectric(PZT) actuators are used due to the convinience of control and the small size. But the displacement of the PZT actuators are very small, and the wing driving mechanism which amplifies the stroke generated by the PZT actuators has constraints in design and manufacture because of the small dimension. In this paper a wing design concept and a efficient driving mechanism are proposed. Electroactive polymers(EAPs) are used as wing mechanism actuators. Using OpenGL the mechanisms are simulated graphically. Also a prototype actuator is being developed and verified by digital Mockup with CATIA. Basic kinematics of the mechanism is studied.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.12 no.6
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• pp.564-572
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• 2004

Modem applications could benefit from multifunctional materials having anisotropic optical, electrical, thermal, or mechanical properties, especially when coupled with locally controlled distribution of the directional response. Such materials are difficult to engineer by conventional methods, but the electric field-aided technology presented herein is able to locally tailor electroactive composites. Applying an electric field to a polymer in its liquid state allows the orientation of chain- or fiber-like inclusions or phases from what was originally an isotropic material. Such composites can be formed from liquid solutions, melts, or mixtures of pre-polymers and cross-linking agents. Upon curing, a 'created composite' results; it consists of these 'pseudofibers' embedded in a matrix. One can also create oriented composites from embedded spheres, flakes, or fiber-like shapes in a liquid plastic. Orientation of the externally applied electric field defines the orientation of the field-aided self-assembled composites. The strength and duration of exposure of the electric field control the degree of anisotropy created. Results of electromechanical testing of these modified materials, which are relevant to sensing and actuation applications, are presented. The materials' micro/nanostructures were analyzed using microscopy and X-ray diffraction techniques.

• Proceedings of the Materials Research Society of Korea Conference
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• 2011.05a
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• pp.11.2-11.2
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• 2011

Polymer based organic photovoltaics have attracted a great deal of attention due to the potential cost-effectiveness of light-weight and flexible solar cells. However, most BHJ polymer solar cells are not thermally stable as subsequent exposure to heat drives further development of the morphology towards a state of macrophase separation in the micrometer scale. Here we would like to show three different approaches for developing new electroactive polymers to improve the thermal stability of the BHJ solar cells, which is a critical problem for the commercialization of these solar cells. For one of the examples, we report a new series of functionalized polythiophene (PT-x) copolymers for use in solution processed organic photovoltaics (OPVs). PT-x copolymers were synthesized from two different monomers, where the ratio of the monomers was carefully controlled to achieve a UV photo-crosslinkable layer while leaving the ${\pi}-{\pi}$ stacking feature of conjugated polymers unchanged. The crosslinking stabilizes PT-x/PCBM blend morphology preventing the macro phase separation between two components, which lead to OPVs with remarkably enhanced thermal stability. The drastic improvement in thermal stabilities is further characterized by microscopy as well as grazing incidence X-ray scattering (GIXS). In the second part of talk, we will discuss the use of block copolymers as active materials for WOLEDs in which phosphorescent emitter isolation can be achieved. We have exploited the use of triarylamine (TPA) oxadiazole (OXA) diblock copolymers (TPA-b-OXA), which have been used as host materials due to their high triplet energy and charge-transport properties enabling a balance of holes and electrons. Organization of phosphorescent domains in TPA-b-OXA block copolymers is demonstrated to yield dual emission for white electroluminescence. Our approach minimizes energy transfer between two colored species by site isolation through morphology control, allowing higher loading concentration of red emitters with improved device performance. Furthermore, by varying the molecular weight of TPA-b-OXA and the ratio of blue to red emitters, we have investigated the effect of domain spacing on the electroluminescence spectrum and device performance.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.27 no.11
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• pp.1910-1912
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• 2006

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.28-36
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• 2002

In this study, we synthesized novel thiophene derivatives by the protection of the carboxyl group of 3-thiophene acetic acid with differently substituted benzyl groups. While 3-thiophene acetic acid is not electro-polymerizable, the modified monomers can be easily electro-oxidized to form stable electroactive polymers. The protecting groups can be easily removed in the solid state and the desired reactive carboxyl group can be introduced on the polymer surface. SEM observations show that obtained polymer films show a very good film surface and homogeneous morphology on the Pt electrode. After introduction of macromonomer, FT-IR spectrum shows new absorption bands at 1650 and $1550 cm^{-1}$, which is consistent with the formation of an amide bond. Electroactivity measurements were examined by cyclic voltammogram(CV). These polymers showed the characteristic electrochemical behavior of poly(3-alkylthiophene)s with reversible redox transition in the range of 0.7-0.9 V.

• International Journal of Control, Automation, and Systems
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.429-435
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• 2007

A number of different alternative actuation methods have been under active development for some specific applications where the traditional electromechanical actuators are difficult to apply. Recently, many of these substitutes are trying to employ new smart materials like electroactive polymers. However most of the polymeric materials are flexible and vulnerable so that they normally can not sustain external forces. Although the materials have shown a good potential to be used for alternative actuation mechanisms, no tangible industrial application is yet presented because of the reason. A conceptual design for a rectilinear motion actuator using dielectric elastomer is presented in this article. The introduced design concept might enable to produce fairly controllable rectilinear motions for various applications and the presented prototype actuator system is fully packaged in a small unit and controlled by a standard communication interface.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.1601-1623
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• 2015

Electroactive polymers have attracted considerable attention in recent years due to their sensing and actuating properties which make them a material of choice for a wide range of applications including sensors, biomimetic robots, and biomedical micro devices. This paper presents an effective modeling strategy for nonlinear large deformation (small strains and moderate rotations) dynamic analysis of polymer actuators. Considering that the complicated electro-chemo-mechanical dynamics of these actuators is a drawback for their application in functional devices, establishing a mathematical model which can effectively predict the actuator's dynamic behavior can be of paramount importance. To effectively predict the actuator's dynamic behavior, a comprehensive mathematical model is proposed correlating the input voltage and the output bending displacement of polymer actuators. The proposed model, which is based on the rigid finite element (RFE) method, consists of two parts, namely electrical and mechanical models. The former is comprised of a ladder network of discrete resistive-capacitive components similar to the network used to model transmission lines, while the latter describes the actuator as a system of rigid links connected by spring-damping elements (sdes). Both electrical and mechanical components are validated through experimental results.

• Korean Journal of Bronchoesophagology
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.19-25
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• 2006

There have been numerous modalities to recover blink function of orbicularis oculi muscle in patients with facial paralysis. However, there is still no optimal method for reanimation of eyelid. In this study, we tried to recover blink function of paralyzed rabbit's eyelid with the ion polymer metal composite (IPMC) which is one of the electroactive polymers that is spotlighted as artificial muscle. We manufactured IPMC by plating the platinum over perfluorosulphonic acid polymer ($Nafion^{(R)}$). IPMC was coated by Norland optical adhesive for the purpose of insulation and keeping it from dry. IPMC modifications by roughening the surface of Nafion, repetitive plating (maximum 4 times) with platinum, and lengthening the width of IPMC were done. The facial paralysis was induced in the rabbit by sectioning of facial nerve at the main trunk. After minimum period of 4 weeks, IPMC was inserted in the paralyzed rabbit's eyelid. By modification, the force generated by IPMC was enhanced. Restoration of blink function in paralyzed rabbit was achieved on electrical stimulation of the IPMC by 5 voltage direct current. IPMC can be promising option for facial reanimation, but further studies are needed to enhance the efficiency of IPMC.