ETHYLENE OXIDE-ETHYLENE TEREPHTHALATE SEGMENTED COPOLYMER SOLID ELECTROLYTE

A series of ethylene oxide-ethylene terephthalate segmented copolymers (EOET) weresynthesized and complexed with LiClO_4 to form some new polymer electrolytes. The EOET-LiClO_4 electrolytes exhibit not only high ionic conductivity, but also good mechanical strengthand toughness. The EOET 3400--25--LiClO_4 complex possesses the highest conductivity (4. 65×10^(-5)s·cm^(-1) at room temperature when the ratio [Li^+]/[EO] equals 1/16. The structures of these electrolytes were examined with FTIR analysis, X-ray diffractionand DSC thermograms, and the results of high ionic conductivity of the segmented copolymerswere discussed.

A New Type of Hybrid Fish-like Microrobot

In order to develop a new type of fish-like microrobot with swimming, walking, and floating motions, in our past research, we developed a hybrid microrobot actuated by ionic conducting polymer film （ICPF） actuators. But the microrobot had some problems in walking and floating motions. In this paper, we propose a concept of hybrid microrobot （see Fig. 1）. The microrobot is actuated by a pair of caudal fins, a base with legs and an array of artificial swim bladders. We have developed a prototype of the base with legs and one artificial swim bladder, respectively, and carried out experiments for evaluating their characteristics. Experimental results show the base with legs can realize walking speed of 6 mm/s and rotating speed of 7.1 degrees/s respectively, and the prototype of the artificial swim bladder has a maximum floatage of 2.6 mN. The experimental results also indicate that the microrobot has some advantages, such as walking motion with 2 degrees of freedom, the walking ability on rough surface （sand paper）, the controllable floatage, etc. This kind of fish-like microrobot is expected for industrial and medical applications.

Development of ICPF Actuated Underwater Microrobots

It is our target to develop underwater microrobots for medical and industrial applications. This kind of underwater microrobots should have the characteristics of flexibility, good response and safety. Its structure should be simple and it can be driven by low voltage and produces no pollution or noise. The low actuating voltage and quick bending responses of Ionic Conducting Polymer Film （ICPF） are considered very useful and attractive for constructing various types of actuators and sensors. In this paper, we will first study the characteristics of the ICPF actuator used in underwater microrobot to realize swimming and walking. Then, we propose a new prototype model of underwater swimming microrobot utilizing only one piece of ICPF as the servo actuator. Through theoretic analysis, the motion mechanism of the microrobot is illustrated. It can swim forward and vertically. The relationships between moving speed and signal voltage amplitude and signal frequency is obtained after experimental study. Lastly, we present a novel underwater crab-like walking microrobot named crabliker-1. It has eight legs, and each leg is made up of two pieces of ICPF. Three sample processes of the octopod gait are proposed with a new analyzing method. The experimental results indicate that the crab-like underwater microrobot can perform transverse and rotation movement when the legs of the crab collaborate.

A NEW TYPE OF MICROPUMP DRIVEN BY A LOW ELECTRIC VOLTAGE

In this paper,we propose a new prototype model of a micro pump using ICPF(Ionic Conducting Polymer Film)actuator as the servo actuator.This micro pump consists of two active one- way valves that make use of the same ICPF actuator.The overall size of this micro pump prototype is 12mm in diameter and 20mm in length.The actuating mechanism is as follows:(1)The ICPF actuator as the diaphragm is bent into anode side by application of electricity.Then the volume of the pump chamber increases,resulting in the inflow of liquid from the inlet to the chamber.(2)By changing the current direction,the volume of the pump chamber decreases,resulting in the liquid flow from the chamber to the outlet.(3)The ICPF actuator is put on a sine voltage,the micro pump provides liquid flow from the inlet to the outlet continuously.Characteristic of the micro pump is measured.The experimental results indicate that the micro pump has the satisfactory responses.

Effects of ceramic filler in poly(vinyl chloride)/poly(ethyl methacrylate) based polymer blend electrolytes

Effects of nano-ceramic filler titanium oxide（TiO2） have been investigated on the ionic conductance of polymeric complexes consisting of polyvinyl chloride）（PVC）/poly（ethyl methacrylate）（PEMA）,and lithium perchlorate（LiClO4）.The composite polymer blend electrolytes were prepared by solvent casting technique.The TiO2 nanofillers were homogeneously dispersed in the polymer electrolyte matrix and exhibited excellent interconnection with PVC/PEMA/PC/UCIO4 polymer electrolyte.The addition of TiO2nanofillers improved the ionic conductivity of the polymer electrolyte to some extent when the content of TiO2 is 15 wt%.The addition of TiO2 also enhanced the thermal stability of the electrolyte.The changes in the structural and complex formation properties of the materials are studied by X-ray diffraction（XRD） and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy（FTIR） techniques.The scanning electron microscope image of nano-composite polymer electrolyte membrane confirms that the TiO2 nanoparticles were distributed uniformly in the polymer matrix.