Smart Electroactive Polymers and Composite Materials

Electroactive Polymers (EAPs) are a relatively new class of materials that can be used both as sensors and actuators. Conductive polymers (CP) and ionic metal polymer composites (IPMC) are categorized as electroactive polymeric materials that exhibit interesting sensing and actuating behaviors. EAPs can be classified into two major categories, namely, the ionic EAPs which are activated by an electrically induced transport of ions or molecules and the electronic EAPs which are activated by an external electric field and by Coulombian forces. The ionic EAPs are polymer gels, conducting polymers, and IPMC. Electrochemical polymerization of conducting polymers is generally employed by: constant current or galvanostatic, constant potential or potentiostatic, and potential scanning/cycling or sweeping methods. Piezoelectric materials play an important role in micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) and nano-electromechanical systems (NEMS). Polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) has been widely used in engineering applications due to its favorable chemical and mechanical properties.