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Understanding The Thermal Properties Of Precursor-Ionomers To Optimize Fabrication Processes For Ionic Polymer-Metal Composites (Ipmcs), Sarah Trabia, Kisuk Choi, Zakai Olsen, Taeseon Hwang, Jae-Do Nam, Kwang J. Kim

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research

Ionic polymer-metal composites (IPMCs) are one of many smart materials and have ionomer bases with a noble metal plated on the surface. The ionomer is usually Nafion, but recently Aquivion has been shown to be a promising alternative. Ionomers are available in the form of precursor pellets. This is an un-activated form that is able to melt, unlike the activated form. However, there is little study on the thermal characteristics of these precursor ionomers. This lack of knowledge causes issues when trying to fabricate ionomer shapes using methods such as extrusion, hot-pressing, and more recently, injection molding and 3D printing. …