A Novel Polymeric Micropump based on a Multilayered Ionic Polymer-Metal Composite

In this paper, a novel flap valve micropump with an ionic polymer-metal composite (IPMC) actuator was designed, fabricated, and experimentally characterized. A high performance multilayered IPMC based on Nafion/layered silicate and Nafion/silica nanocomposites was fabricated for the actuation section of a micropump. A key element of the micropump is the IPMC driven diaphragm. The IPMC diaphragm was designed so that the IPMC actuator was supported by a flexible polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) structure at its perimeter. This design feature enabled a significantly high displacement of the IPMC diaphragm. The IPMC diaphragm reached a high fractional stroke (i.e. displacement per unit length) as high as 1.6%. The overall size of the micropump is 20times20times4 mm³. Water flow rates of up to 760 mul/min and a maximum backpressure of 1.5 kPa were recorded. A significant advantage of the proposed micropump is its low driven voltage from only 1-3 V. In addition, a simple and effective design, and an ease of manufacturing are other advantages of this micropump