Studies of Electroconductive Magnetorheological Elastomers

Abstract

Electroconductive magnetorheological elastomers (MREs) have attracted a wide scientific attention in recent years due to their potential applications as electric current elements, in seismic protection, in production of rehabilitation devices, and sensors or transducers of magnetic fields/mechanical tensions. A particular interest concerns their behavior under the influence of external magnetic and electric fields, since various physical properties (e.g., rheological, elastic, electrical) can be continuously and/or reversibly modified. In this chapter, we describe fabrication methods and structural properties from small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) of various isotropic and anisotropic MRE and hybrid MRE. We present and discuss the physical mechanisms leading to the main features of interest for various medical and technical applications, such as electrical (complex dielectric permittivity, electrical conductivity) and rheological (viscosity) properties.