Preparation and performance research of porous and Venus flytrap-shaped IPMC

Ionic polymer–metal composite (IPMC) is a new type of artificial muscle material. It is often used as the driver of bionic micro animals and plants because of its low driving voltage, large deformation and high sensitivity. The water uptake (WUP) of IPMC is an important factor affecting its driving performance. Considering this, a series of porous IPMCs with different content of nano Fe₃O₄ were prepared by particle leaching and electroless plating. Owing to the existence of a porous structure, the transportation channels of water molecules are greatly increased, which improves the WUP and driving performance of the IPMC. Combined with the inspiration of the stoma’s natural plant body structure, porous IPMC (P-IPMC) was applied to the bionic Venus flytrap (VF) actuator. The experimental results show that when the nano Fe₃O₄ content is between 0.1 wt% and 0.5 wt%, the performance of P-IPMC is better than that of non-porous IPMC (NP-IPMC). From the performance response of the NP-VF and P-VF actuators, P-VF can meet the requirements of a similar shape and motion state to the natural flytrap at a voltage value of 4 V, which is better than the driving performance of NP-VF. This paper lays a foundation for the improvement of driving performance and the diversified use of IPMC.