The authors report an electrothermal actuator, which is fabricated by involving carbon nanotube network into the silicone elastomer. The actuators exhibit excellent performances as good as normal dielectric elastomer actuators while working under much lower voltages (e.g., 1.5Vmm−1). They are longitudinal actuators and there is no need for stacking or rolling sheets of materials. In addition, they can satisfy the demand of different voltage applications ranging from dozens of voltages to thousands of voltages by using different carbon nanotube loading composites. Visible maximal strain of 4.4% occurs at an electric power intensity around 0.03Wmm−3.

In this work, we explored the electrical resistance-pressure sensitivity of multiwall carbon nanotube (MWNT) networks/poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) composites and proposed a deformation-induced property transition mechanism of the nanotubes to explain this behavior. The thermoelectric coefficients of the MWNT networks/PDMS composites and MWNT mat under pressure were also measured and discussed to support our proposition. Our results revealed that the relative resistances of MWNT networks/PDMS composites with lower MWNT loadings are more sensitive on the applied pressure. Furthermore, the I-V characteristic of the MWNT networks/PDMS composites modulated with pressure on one side has shown a well rectified behavior.

No abstract