Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
In figures 3.28(a) and 3.28(b), the surface micrographs are presented for an
IPMNC without dispersing agent treatment and for an IPMNC with dispersing agent
treatment. Clearly, the effect of dispersing agent is to form uniform electroded
particle surfaces. Our effort has been extended to investigate various types of dis-
persing agents; however, results are somewhat scattered, as can be seen in figure
3.29. Note in this figure that sample 6 is the one with no treatment. Other samples
were treated by proprietary dispersing agents including PVP, PVP/PMMA,
PVA/PVP, and a commercial detergent, CTAB. Sample 3, which was PVP treated,
shows the best force generation capability.
The third issue is related to the sharp diffusional resistance at the surface caused
by the platinum compositing process that is a primary reason for limiting the platinum
layer growth (fig. 3.30). One approach is to stretch the base material prior to the
platinum composition process. By doing so, we anticipate that the base materials
are plastically deformed and, as a result, the larger pores (higher permeability) could
be created relative to the starting materials.
10
µ
m
FIGURE 3.28
(a)
SEM micrographs showing surface morphologies of the IPMNC sample
without the use of a dispersing agent.
20
m
µ
FIGURE 3.28
(b)
SEM micrographs showing surface morphologies of the IPMNC sample
with the use of a dispersing agent.
