Novel high dielectric constant hybrid elastomers as candidates for dielectric elastomer actuators

Presently, none of the reported elastomers meets the optimal requirements expected to produce a commercially attractive dielectric elastomer film. Therefore, bold approaches have to be undertaken in order to make significant improvements. The presented research deals with the simple idea of incorporating high-permittivity polar liquids in discrete compartments in silicone elastomer. The idea, though, has two very important advantages. Firstly, high-permittivity polar liquids are theoretically capable of enhancing the dielectric constant of a material in the same manner as classical ceramic fillers. Secondly, incorporating polar liquids into a non-polar polymer is envisioned to be realized via introducing discrete microdroplets of the liquid into the polymer, which will introduce zero-stress zones into the elastomer. Ultimately, the Young’s modulus of such a material will decrease, and thereby theoretical DEA efficiency will be enhanced. Here various polar liquids and commercial silicones are investigated as potential candidates for creating high-performance DEA membranes.