Mechanical and thermal behavior of ionic polymer-metal composites: effects of electroded metals

In this study, we investigated the mechanical properties of various types of ionic polymer-metal composites (IPMCs) and Pt, Au, Pd, and Pt electroded ionic liquid (IL-Pt) IPMCs, by testing tensile modulus and dynamic mechanical behavior. The SEM was utilized to investigate the characteristics of the doped electroding layer, and the DSC was probed in order to look into the thermal behavior of various types of IPMCs. Au IPMCs, having a 5-7 mu m-doped layer and nanosized Au particles (ca. 10 nm), showed the highest tensile strength (56 MPa) and modulus (602 MPa) in dried conditions. With regards to thermal behavior, Au IPMC had the highest T-g (153 degrees C) and T-m (263 degrees C) in both the DMA and DSC results. The fracture behavior of various types of IPMCs followed the behavior of the base material, Nafion (TM), which is represented as the semicrystalline polymer characteristic.