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Polymer Congress 2018
Polymer Sciences
ISSN: 2471-9935
Page 75
June 04-05, 2018
London, UK
4
th
Edition of International Conference on
Polymer Science and
Technology
T
he interest in Bio-Inspired Engineering is triggered by
innovations “inspired by nature”, but imaginative by
necessity. In pursuance of such activities several new
kind of materials have evolved, which are having several
functions in itself as a sensor and actuator. Moreover, their
capabilities and applications are further augmented by bio-
inspired technologies, which is expected to bring about
completely different ways people and machines interact
with the physical world. In this context use of Ionic Polymer-
Metal Composites (IPMCs) appears to be attractive for its:
facile fabrication, high mechanical flexibility, light weight,
customizable electromechanical coupling properties and
tailorable geometries. An IPMC consists of a polyelectrolyte
membrane containing ions with a solvent and metal electrodes
plated on both surfaces of the membrane. Development of
smart material using ionic polymer-metal composites (IPMCs)
is of abiding importance. The IPMCs are now recognized to
have potential applications in developing bio-mimetic sensors,
actuators, transducers, and artificial muscles. We have been
engaged in developing IPMC based actuators and sensors.
Recently we have reported results of the actuation and sensing
studies of a five-fingered miniaturized robotic hand fabricated
by using IPMC. Very recently, we have explored the possibility
of using Nafion based IPMC as a soft wearable sensor for
human pulse-rate extraction. In this talk the concept of a novel
pulse rate sensing device is introduced exhibiting the proof-
of-principle of the mechano-electrical functions of the device,
namely IPMC filmprepared by surface platinization of the ionic-
polymer film. Such work stimulates further research towards
development technologies that have far reaching application
consequences in biomedical engineering.
dchat57@hotmail.comSensing human pulse-rate using ionic polymer metal composite
(IPMC)
Debabrata Chatterjee
Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology, Shibpur, India
Polym Sci 2018, Volume 4
DOI: 10.4172/2471-9935-C2-012