Soft, tough, and fast polyacrylate dielectric elastomer for non-magnetic motor

Dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs) with large electrically-actuated strain can build lightweight and flexible non-magnetic motors. However, dielectric elastomers commonly used in the field of soft actuation suffer from high stiffness, low strength, and high driving field, severely limiting the DEA's actuating performance. This paper presents a new polyacrylate dielectric elastomer with an optimized crosslinking network using a difunctional macromolecular crosslinking agent. The elastomer demonstrates desirable modulus (~0.073 MPa), high toughness (elongation ~2400%), low mechanical loss, and satisfactory dielectric properties. This leads to large actuation strain, high energy density, and rapid response. A non-magnetic motor made from this elastomer shows a 15 times higher rotation speed compared to one made with VHBTM 4910. This work offers a strategy for fabricating high-performance dielectric elastomers for soft actuators.

Li-Juan Yin, Yu Zhao, Jing Zhu, Minhao Yang, Huichan Zhao, Jia-Yao Pei, Shao-Long Zhong, Zhi-Min Dang