Design, fabrication, and experimental characterization of a flap valve IPMC micropump with a flexibly supported diaphragm

Abstract This paper presents the design, fabrication and experimental characterization of a flap valve ionic polymer–metal composite (IPMC) micropump, the diaphragm of which is supported by a flexible material. A multilayered IPMC based on a Nafion/layered silicate and Nafion/silica nanocomposites was fabricated and used as an actuator for the micropump. To make best use of a flexible IPMC diaphragm, we introduced a concept of flexible support and implemented the concept by supporting an IPMC actuator with a compliant polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) structure at its perimeter. We then fabricated an IPMC micropump with the IPMC diaphragm and flap valves made from the PDMS material. Experiments and finite element analyses were performed to justify the concept of flexible support and to characterize the multilayered IPMC diaphragm and the IPMC micropump. A maximum flow rate of 760 μl/min and a maximum backpressure of 1.5 kPa were recorded at an applied voltage of 3 V and a driving frequency of 3 Hz, even though the performance lasted for a few minutes. The proposed micropump is attractive due to its low operational voltage, lack of leakage problems, simple design, and ease of manufacturing.