A Dielectric Elastomer Actuator That Can Self-Heal Integrally

Abstract

Dielectric actuators are prone to be worn or partially damaged when operating at high electric fields. The introduction of self-healing features into dielectric actuators is favorable for extending its life span and security. Although many attempts have been made to produce self-healing dielectric actuators, most of them focus on the healing of either the electrodes or the dielectric layers. A dielectric actuator that exhibits integral self-healing is still unprecedented. Meanwhile, realizing integral self-healing in dielectric actuator is highly challenging because both the electrode and the dielectric layer need to be healed while the interface between the electrode and the dielectric layer should remain unaffected during the healing process. In this paper, we synthesized self-healing polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) polymers containing different amounts of polyaniline (PANI) (denoted as PDMS−PANI n , where n represents the weight percentage of PANI) as the dielectric layer and electrode, respectively. PDMS−PANI 2.5 polymer exhibits good dielectric properties (ε = 11.11 at 50 Hz) and was used as the dielectric layer, while PDMS− PANI 20 polymer having a high conductivity of 4.5 × 10 −5 S/cm was used as the electrode. As both of them have excellent self-healing ability and are compatible and diffusible to each other, the entire actuator device can still cause actuated strain after cutting and healing at room temperature for 48 h. Our strategy for realizing integral self-healing of actuator is also applicable to other electronic devices.

A comparative review of artificial muscles for microsystem applications

“…The peak energy density reached 19.8 J/kg 5 . By applying self-healing elastomers, DE devices are able to realize the capability of self-healing 84 – 86 , which is a feature of natural muscle. Figure 4a shows a self-healing DE artificial muscle reported by Li et al 84 .…”

Processing of Self‐Healing Polymers for Soft Robotics

“…[ 63 ] These sensors often are mostly manufactured out of conductive self‐healing polymers. Electrically conducting self‐healing elastomers [ 64,65 ] can be achieved by polymer backbones that are intrinsically conductive, including polypyrrole [ 66 ] and polyaniline, [ 67 ] or it can be achieved by the addition of fillers to the (self‐healing) polymer matrix. Typical conductive fillers include carbon black, [ 68 ] carbon nanotubes, [ 69 ] silver nano‐wires, [ 70 ] or liquid metal droplets.…”

Well-Tailored Dynamic Liquid Crystal Networks with Anionically Polymerized Styrene-Butadiene Rubbers toward Modulating Shape Memory and Self-Healing Capacity

“…It is well-known that these materials have shown significant contributions in the development of intelligent materials. − Benefiting from the enormous extensibility and elasticity, it is well-acknowledged that rubbers have the ability to recover their original shape and dimensions. Obviously, these features of rubbers simultaneously meet the principle of self-healing and shape memory materials. , Therefore, there have been significant advances over the last several years in the design of self-healing or shape memory materials based on a variety of rubbers, such as polyisoprene, polybutadiene, acrylonitrile butadiene, and polydimethylsiloxane. − Generally, rubbers require either dynamic covalent bond crosslinking, , coordination chemistry, , or physical associations such as small glassy or crystalline domains, ionic aggregates, , and hydrogen bonding, − to maintain rubber elasticity via a 3D network. Since SBRs containing dynamic networks possess the unique adaptive properties of self-healing, shape memory, and recyclability, accompanied with a reversible cleavage and reformation of dynamic bonds, they have attracted considerable attention.…”