Sulfonated Copper Phthalocyanine/Sulfonated Polysulfone Composite Membrane for Ionic Polymer Actuators with High Power Density and Fast Response Time

Taehoon Kwon; Hyeongrae Cho; Jang-Woo Lee; Dirk Henkensmeier; Youngjong Kang; Chong Min Koo

doi:10.1021/acsami.7b07572

Sulfonated Copper Phthalocyanine/Sulfonated Polysulfone Composite Membrane for Ionic Polymer Actuators with High Power Density and Fast Response Time

ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2017 Aug 30;9(34):29063-29070. doi: 10.1021/acsami.7b07572. Epub 2017 Aug 15.

Authors

Taehoon Kwon¹, Hyeongrae Cho, Jang-Woo Lee², Dirk Henkensmeier^{3

4}, Youngjong Kang¹, Chong Min Koo^{5

6}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemistry, Research Institute for Natural Sciences, Institute of Nano Science and Technology, Hanyang University , Wangsimni-ro 222, Seongdong-gu, Seoul 04763, Republic of Korea.
² Future Technology R&D Team, Petrochemical Division, Daelim Industrial Company, Limited , Sinsungnam-ro 106, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34108, Republic of Korea.
³ ET-GT, KIST School, University of Science and Technology , Hwarang-ro 14-gil 5, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul 02792, Republic of Korea.
⁴ Green School, Korea University , Anam-ro 145, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul 02841, Republic of Korea.
⁵ KU-KIST Graduate School of Science and Technology, Korea University , Anam-ro 145, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul 02841, Republic of Korea.
⁶ Nanomaterials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology , Gajeong-ro 217, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34113, Republic of Korea.

PMID: 28782936
DOI: 10.1021/acsami.7b07572

Abstract

Ionic polymer composite membranes based on sulfonated poly(arylene ether sulfone) (SPAES) and copper(II) phthalocyanine tetrasulfonic acid (CuPCSA) are assembled into bending ionic polymer actuators. CuPCSA is an organic filler with very high sulfonation degree (IEC = 4.5 mmol H⁺/g) that can be homogeneously dispersed on the molecular scale into the SPAES membrane, probably due to its good dispersibility in SPAES-containing solutions. SPAES/CuPCSA actuators exhibit larger ion conductivity (102 mS cm^-1), tensile modulus (208 MPa), strength (101 MPa), and strain (1.21%), exceptionally faster response to electrical stimuli, and larger mechanical power density (3028 W m^-3) than ever reported for ion-conducting polymer actuators. This outstanding actuation performance of SPAES/CuPCSA composite membrane actuators makes them attractive for next-generation transducers with high power density, which are currently developed, e.g., for underwater propulsion and endoscopic surgery.

Keywords: ionic polymer actuator; mechanical power density; organic composite; polymer electrolyte; response rate; sulfonated copper phthalocyanine.