Morphology and performance characterization of Cu-Pt-IPMC driven by different ions

As a new type of intelligent material, Ionic Polymer-Metal Composite material (IPMC) has been applied in many fields, but the electrode layer is prone to cracking which causes loss of water affecting its smooth work. The types of electrodes and driving ions are the key factors affecting this problem. Therefore, in this paper, the IPMC with copper and platinum composite electrode (Cu-Pt-IPMC) were prepared by electroless plating and driven by different ion of Cu2+ and Li+. Using the three-dimensional visual design software AVIZO to obtain the fractal dimension and volume fraction of Cu-Pt-IPMC, and combining with the improved Wellstrass-Mandelbrot (W-M) function model and Matlab, the fractal surfaces of IPMC is analyzed by fractal theory. Combined with strain energy density, the related properties of Cu-Pt-IPMC are comprehensively described. The results show that Cu-Pt-IPMC driven by Cu2+ has smaller volume fraction and simpler fractal surface of surface electrode than Li+. When cycle times of Autocatalytic Plating Platinum (ACP-Pt) are 3 times, the strain energy density of Cu-Pt-IPMC driven by Li+ and Cu2+ are 5.99 kJ/m(3) and 7.31 kJ/m(3), respectively, which possesses the best driving performance. This experiment lays a foundation for improving the crack prone problem of IPMC.