Improve the Performance of Mechanoelectrical Transduction of Ionic Polymer-Metal Composites Based on Ordered Nafion Nanofibres by Electrospinning

Yang Zhao; Jiazheng Sheng; Di Xu; Minzhong Gao; Qinglong Meng; Dezhi Wu; Lingyun Wang; Wenlong Lv; Qinnan Chen; Jingjing Xiao; Daoheng Sun

doi:10.3390/polym10070803

Improve the Performance of Mechanoelectrical Transduction of Ionic Polymer-Metal Composites Based on Ordered Nafion Nanofibres by Electrospinning

Polymers (Basel). 2018 Jul 21;10(7):803. doi: 10.3390/polym10070803.

Authors

Yang Zhao¹, Jiazheng Sheng², Di Xu³, Minzhong Gao⁴, Qinglong Meng⁵, Dezhi Wu⁶, Lingyun Wang⁷, Wenlong Lv^{8

9}, Qinnan Chen¹⁰, Jingjing Xiao¹¹, Daoheng Sun¹²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361102, China. zhaoy@xmu.edu.cn.
² Department of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361102, China. shengjiazheng@stu.xmu.edu.cn.
³ Department of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361102, China. axudi@stu.xmu.edu.cn.
⁴ School of Aerospace Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China. j.gmz@163.com.
⁵ Department of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361102, China. mengqinglong@stu.xmu.edu.cn.
⁶ Department of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361102, China. wdz@xmu.edu.cn.
⁷ Department of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361102, China. wangly@xmu.edu.cn.
⁸ Department of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361102, China. lwl1980@xmu.edu.cn.
⁹ Pen-Tung Sah Institute of Micro-Nano Science and Technology, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China. lwl1980@xmu.edu.cn.
¹⁰ Department of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361102, China. chenqinnan@xmu.edu.cn.
¹¹ Department of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361102, China. jj_xiao@xmu.edu.cn.
¹² Department of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361102, China. sundh@xmu.edu.cn.

Abstract

An ionic polymer⁻metal composite (IPMC) is a kind of soft material. The applications of IPMC in actuators, environmental sensing, and energy harvesting are currently increasing rapidly. In this study, an ordered Nafion nanofibre mat prepared by electrospinning was used to investigate the characteristics of the mechanoelectrical transduction of IPMC. The morphologies of the Nafion nanofibre mat were characterized. The proton conductivity, ion exchange capacities, and water uptake potential of the Nafion nanofibre mat were compared to traditional IPMC, respectively. A novel mechanism of Nafion nanofibre IPMC was designed and the open circuit voltage and short circuit current were measured. The maximum voltage value reached 100 mv. The output power was 3.63 nw and the power density was up to 42.4 μW/Kg under the load resistance. The Nafion nanofibre mat demonstrates excellent mechanoelectrcical transduction behavior compared to traditional IPMC and could be used for the development of self-powered devices in the future.

Keywords: Nafion; electrospinning; ionic polymer–metal composite; mechanoelectrical transduction; nanofibre.

Abstract

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