Factors affecting surface and release properties of thin PDMS films

Polydimethysiloxane (PDMS) elastomers are commonly used as dielectric electroactive polymers (DEAP). DEAP films are used in making actuators, generators and sensors. In the large scale manufacture of DEAP films, release of films from the substrate (carrier web) induces some defects and pre-strain in the films which affect the overall performance of the films. The current research is directed towards investigating factors affecting the peel force and release of thin, corrugated polydimethylsiloxane films used in DEAP films. It has been shown that doping the PDMS films with small quantities of perfluoroether allylamide (PFE) lowered the surface energy which could ease the release. This is further investigated together with an evaluation of the resulting change in actuator performance. The relationship between the adhesive energy, surface energy, Young’s modulus and peel force of the films is analyzed.