Several polydimethylsiloxane elastomers were developed and investigated regarding their potential use as materials in dielectric elastomer actuators (DEA). A hydroxyl end‐functionalized polydimethylsiloxane was reacted with different crosslinkers and the electromechanical properties of the resulting elastomers were investigated. The silicone showing the best actuation at the lowest electric field was further used as matrix and compounded with encapsulated conductive polyaniline particles. These composites have enhanced properties including increased strain at break, higher dielectric constant as well as, gratifyingly, breakdown fields higher than that of the matrix. One of the newly synthesized composites is compared to the commercially available acrylic foil VHB 4905 (3M) which is currently the most commonly used elastomer for DEA applications. It was found that this material has little hysteresis and can be activated at lower voltages compared to VHB 4905. For example, when the newly synthesized composite was 30% prestrained, a lateral actuation strain of about 12% at 40 V μm−1 was measured while half of this actuation strain at the same voltage was measured for VHB 4905 film that was 300% prestrained. It also survived more than 100 000 cycles at voltages which are close to the breakdown field. Such materials might find applications wherever small forces but large strains at low voltages are required, in, for example, tactile displays.
Polydimethylsiloxanes (PDMS) have recently been used as dielectric elastomer materials in electromechanical actuators. When they are soft enough, electric fields can change their shape. However, due to their low dielectric permittivity, large electric fields are required to induce a change. The approach presented here is to chemically modify silicones with cyanopropyl groups in order to increase their permittivity. Samples containing repeat units with cyanopropyl groups from 3 to 23% were synthesized, different methods being employed. The prepared polymers were cross-linked into thin films. The dielectric permittivity of these films increased from 2.4 (for the silicone matrix) to 6.5 for a film containing about 23% of cyanopropyl repeat units. The most promising materials were further optimized to meet the requirements for actuators and their electromechanical properties were investigated. Material A for example, which is a blend of PDMS and cyanopropyl-modified silicone, has a permittivity of 3.5 and higher moduli of elasticity as compared to the matrix but nevertheless shows 10% actuation strain at 40 V μm−1 which is a factor of 3.8 larger as compared to the matrix (2.6% actuation strain at the same voltage).
A sustainable aqueous-based route is reported for the synthesis of low density mesoporous silica/chitosan nanocomposite aerogels by cogelation of a chitosan biopolymer dissolved in silicic acid. The random “cluster–cluster” aggregate silica structure intertwined at the molecular level with chitosan yields a three-dimensional semi-interpenetrating network with greatly improved mechanical properties when compared to a silica aerogel of similar density. The physical properties of the resulting aerogels depend significantly on the gelation pH. A silica aerogel reference material synthesized at a low pH of 3 features very low density and high porosity resulting in a highly elastic behavior but comparatively weak skeletal structure (final strength <1 MPa). By compounding the acid catalyzed gel with a chitosan coprecursor, an inorganic–organic nanocomposite aerogel is formed that retains high mechanical flexibility (strain at rupture >80%) but with greatly increased yield strength (>7 MPa). Importantly, the reinforcement does not significantly increase density or thermal conductivity. The volume fraction of the biopolymer coprecursor, which has abundant amino and hydroxyl functional groups, can be adjusted to tune the bulk properties of the composite aerogel, enabling the design of nanoscale inorganic/organic biocomposite materials for a wide range of thermal insulation, sorption, catalysis, and other applications where structural integrity is indispensable.
Polymer nanocomposites reinforced with inorganic fillers have sparked new aerospace, sports goods, automotive, and civil engineering applications. Here, epoxy nanocomposites with both hydrophobic and hydrophilic silica aerogel powder fillers are presented. The use of a high porosity, mesoporous filler such as silica aerogel avoids the typical problems encountered in dispersing nanoparticles. For both types of aerogel surface chemistry, the addition of minor amounts of silica aerogel leads to a strong increase of application relevant properties, e.g., fracture toughness and energy, impact strength, T g , and storage modulus. The strong covalent silica−epoxy interactions seen for the hydrophilic filler, but absent for the hydrophobic filler, are reflected in the bulk properties. Detailed fractography reveals three active toughening mechanisms: (i) an increase in nanoscale fracture roughness, (ii) crack front bowing and deflection, and (iii) the formation of shear bands. The industrial availability of silica aerogel powders, the excellent properties, and the ease of preparation of the epoxy composites make silica aerogels exceptional nanoporous fillers for polymer reinforcement.
The effects of combining 0.1–5 wt % graphene nanoplatelet (GNP) and 3–30 wt % phosphorous flame retardant, 9,10- dihydro-9-oxa-10-phosphaphenanthrene-10-oxide (DOPO) as fillers in epoxy polymer on the mechanical, flame retardancy, and electrical properties of the epoxy nanocomposites was investigated. GNP was homogeneously dispersed into the epoxy matrix using a solvent-free three-roll milling process, while DOPO was incorporated into the epoxy resin by mechanical stirring at elevated temperature. The incorporation of DOPO reduced the crosslinking density of the epoxy resin. When using polyetheramine as a hardener, the structural rigidity effect of DOPO overshadowed the crosslinking effect and governed the flexural moduli of epoxy/DOPO resins. The flexural moduli of the nanocomposites were improved by adding GNP up to 5 wt % and DOPO up to 30 wt %, whereas the flexural strengths deteriorated when the GNP and DOPO loading were higher than 1 wt % and 10 wt %, respectively. Limited by the adverse effects on mechanical property, the loading combinations of GNP and DOPO within the range of 0–1 wt % and 0–10 wt %, respectively, in epoxy resin were further studied. Flame retardancy index (FRI), which depended on three parameters obtained from cone calorimetry, was considered to evaluate the flame retardancy of the epoxy composites. DOPO showed better performance than GNP as the flame retardant additive, while combining DOPO and GNP could further improve FRI to some extent. With the combination of 0.5 wt % GNP and 10 wt % DOPO, improvement in both mechanical properties and flame retardant efficiency of the nanocomposite was observed. Such a combination did not affect the electrical conductivity of the nanocomposites since the percolation threshold was at 1.6 wt % GNP. Our results enhance the understanding of the structure–property relationship of additive-filled epoxy resin composites and serve as a property constraining guidance for the composite manufacturing.
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