Dynamic Polymer Networks: A New Avenue towards Sustainable and Advanced Soft Machines

Wemyss, Alan M.; Ellingford, Christopher; Morishita, Yoshihiro; Bowen, Chris; Wan, Chaoying

doi:10.1002/anie.202013254

Cited by 50 publications

(53 citation statements)

References 90 publications

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“…Additionally, the self-repairing ability of actuators by the electrode material will significantly increase actuator's lifetime and reliability. [61,62]…”

Section: Stack Actuatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Solvent‐Free Synthesis and Processing of Conductive Elastomer Composites for Green Dielectric Elastomer Transducers

Danner

Iacob

Sasso

et al. 2022

Macromol. Rapid Commun.

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Stretchable electrodes are more suitable for dielectric elastomer transducers (DET) the closer the mechanical characteristics of the electrodes and elastomer are. Here, a solvent-free synthesis and processing of conductive composites with excellent electrical and mechanical properties for transducers are presented. The composites are prepared by in situ polymerization of cyclosiloxane monomers in the presence of graphene nanoplatelets. The low viscosity of the monomer allows for easy dispersion of the filler, eliminating the need for a solvent. After the polymerization, a cross-linking agent is added at room temperature, the composite is solvent-free screen-printed, and the cross-linking reaction is initiated by heating. The best material shows conductivity 𝝈 = 8.2 S cm -1 , Young's modulus Y 10% = 167 kPa, and strain at break s = 305%. The electrode withstands large strains without delamination, shows no conductivity losses during repeated operation for 500 000 cycles, and has an excellent recovery of electrical properties upon being stretched at strains of up to 180%. Reliable prototype capacitive sensors and stack actuators are manufactured by screen-printing the conductive composite on the dielectric film. Stack actuators manufactured from dielectric and conductive materials that are synthesized solvent-free are demonstrated. The stack actuators even self-repair after a breakdown event.

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“…Additionally, the self-repairing ability of actuators by the electrode material will significantly increase actuator's lifetime and reliability. [61,62]…”

Section: Stack Actuatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Solvent‐Free Synthesis and Processing of Conductive Elastomer Composites for Green Dielectric Elastomer Transducers

Danner

Iacob

Sasso

et al. 2022

Macromol. Rapid Commun.

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“…The TPE electrifying aspects were observed to achieve few particular HV insulations, at least for the distribution class applications, especially in light contamination environments. Nowadays, TPEs, mainly silicone rubber (PDMS), ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA), ethylene propylene diene rubber Energies 2021, 14, 2758 5 of 29 (EPDM), styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR), chloroprene rubber, have become the material of choice as an insulator due to their performance and less expense [46][47][48].…”

Section: Thermoplastic Polymersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Application and Suitability of Polymeric Materials as Insulators in Electrical Equipment

et al. 2021

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In this paper, the applications of thermoplastic, thermoset polymers, and a brief description of the functions of each subsystem are reviewed. The synthetic route and characteristics of polymeric materials are presented. The mechanical properties of polymers such as impact behavior, tensile test, bending test, and thermal properties like mold stress-relief distortion, generic thermal indices, relative thermal capability, and relative thermal index are mentioned. Furthermore, this paper covers the electrical behavior of polymers, mainly their dielectric strength. Different techniques for evaluating polymers’ suitability applied for electrical insulation are covered, such as partial discharge and high current arc resistance to ignition. The polymeric materials and processes used for manufacturing cables at different voltage ranges are described, and their applications to high voltage DC systems (HVDC) are discussed. The evolution and limitations of polymeric materials for electrical application and their advantages and future trends are mentioned. However, to reduce the high cost of filler networks and improve their technical properties, new techniques need to be developed. To overcome limitations associated with the accuracy of the techniques used for quantifying residual stresses in polymers, new techniques such as indentation are used with higher force at the stressed location.

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“…Silicone elastomers meet almost all DEAs requirements, such as low Young's modulus, a wide operational temperature range (−120 to 250°C), and high breakdown strength which together with their inherent robustness makes them suitable materials as DE in electro‐mechanical transducers 20 . The main drawback of silicone elastomers is the low dielectric permittivity that, however, can be tuned by creating composites with high permittivity fillers 21,22 or chemical modification of polymers by attaching polar groups to the main backbone (or on the cross‐linking agent) 15–19 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soft silicone elastomers exhibiting large actuation strains

Bele¹,

Dascălu²,

Tugui³

et al. 2022

J of Applied Polymer Sci

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Poly(dimethyl-co-methylvinyl)siloxane-α,ω-diols with 1.5, 5.5, and 8.5 mol% vinyl group contents, respectively, are obtained via an environmental friendly synthesis and used as platforms for further chemical modification via a green process. This chemical modification consists of UV-activated thiol-ene addition of 3-chloro-1-propanethiol to the vinyl groups, as proven by NMR analysis.Cross-linking with tetraethyl orthosilicate (in excess) of such modified polymers leads to dielectric elastomers with higher values of dielectric permittivity than those of non-chemically modified vinyl copolymers cross-linked under similar conditions. In addition, at high chloropropyl content, there is a significant decrease in Young's modulus, attributed to the plasticizing effect of the alkyl segment of the attached chloropropyl, and only a slight increase in breakdown strength is observed. All these changes induced by the chloropropyl group act synergistically in favor of the electromechanical performances of the resulting elastomers that exhibit large out-of-plane actuation strains of 53% and 61% for polar contents of 5.5 and 8.5 mol%, respectively, at an applied electric field of 40 V/μm. These are to the best of our knowledge the largest out-ofplane actuation strains from silicone elastomers reported in literature.

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Dynamic Polymer Networks: A New Avenue towards Sustainable and Advanced Soft Machines

Cited by 50 publications

References 90 publications

Solvent‐Free Synthesis and Processing of Conductive Elastomer Composites for Green Dielectric Elastomer Transducers

Solvent‐Free Synthesis and Processing of Conductive Elastomer Composites for Green Dielectric Elastomer Transducers

Application and Suitability of Polymeric Materials as Insulators in Electrical Equipment

Soft silicone elastomers exhibiting large actuation strains

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