INFLUENCE OF THE ELECTROLYTE NATURE ON THE PERFORMANCE OF IONIC EAP SENSORS WITH METAL AND POLYMER ELECTRODES

We consider micromechanical sensors based on a polymer ion-exchange membrane with metal and polymer electrodes: ionic polymer-metal composites (IPMCs) and ionic polymer-polymer composites (IP 2 Cs). The 20×5×0.3 mm sensors are studied when impregnated with various electrolytes such as deionized water, aqueous 0.1 M CuSO 4 solution, ethylene glycol, and ionic liquid. It is shown that IPMC sensors impregnated with deionized water exhibit the strongest response (130 mV/cm). Adding CuSO 4 decreases the output voltage of IPMC and IP 2 C sensors. To the contrary, IPMC and IP 2 C sensors impregnated with ethylene glycol and ionic liquid show longer times of continuous work. The decrease of output voltage in the case of ethylene glycol and ionic liquid compared to deionized water is most pronounced in IPMC sensors.