Electroactive Thermoplastic Dielectric Elastomers as a New Generation Polymer Actuators

Thermal, mechanical, dielectric, and morphological study of dielectric filler–based thermoplastic nanocomposites for electromechanical applications

“…In addition, the type of additives used, dispersion levels, and the interaction between elastomers and additives are also of major concern. 1,2,[5][6][7][8][9][10] Elastomers tend to have high dielectric constant under relaxed conditions versus stretch conditions. 11 The relative change in polarization under different strain conditions gives low prospect for the use of these elastomers as energy generators, although these elastomers can retain a high degree of mechanical compliance.…”

“…Compared to different piezoelectric, shape memory, and conventional dielectric polymers used in such applications, styrene-based triblock SEBS was found to have higher electrical elongation (47% vs. 0.1% for lead zirconate titanate (PZT)), higher energy density (139 KJ m À3 vs. 2.5 KJ m À3 for PZT) and better electromechanical coupling efficiency (0.85 vs. 0.6 for PZT). 7,12,13 In addition to its elastomeric properties, SEBS can easily be processed for its mechanical and electrical performance enhancement. Even though conventional dielectric elastomers such as silicone also have good electromechanical performance, 6,14 several problems such as the requirement of high biased voltage and difficult processing requirements remain unresolved.…”

“…Even though conventional dielectric elastomers such as silicone also have good electromechanical performance, 6,14 several problems such as the requirement of high biased voltage and difficult processing requirements remain unresolved. 7,15 The ease of processing thermoplastic elastomers with the addition of different filler types to tailor their dielectric properties makes them more suitable for artificial muscles, capacitive sensors, and capacitive energy harvesters. 7,16 Conductive fillers tend to change the dielectric permittivity of polymer matrices by several folds.…”

“…7,15 The ease of processing thermoplastic elastomers with the addition of different filler types to tailor their dielectric properties makes them more suitable for artificial muscles, capacitive sensors, and capacitive energy harvesters. 7,16 Conductive fillers tend to change the dielectric permittivity of polymer matrices by several folds. 17 He and Tjong 18 reported the dielectric permittivity of polyvinylidene difluoride increased by 15 times with the addition 0.5% of reduced graphene sheets 19 .…”

Thermal Stability of π-Conjugated n-Ethylene-Glycol-Terminated Quaterthiophene Oligomers: A Computational and Experimental Study

“…The calculated δ values for 4T and PEO4 are 20.84 MPa 1/2 and 21.0 MPa 1/2 , respectively, which gives χ 4T‑PEO4 ∼ 0.007, i.e., a 0 < χ N ≪ 1 for the 4T/PEO4 oligomer, indicative of very weak incompatibility. A diblock oligomer with this value of χ N would be predicted to form a mixed disordered phase at room temperature if both blocks were in an amorphous state. However, this is inconsistent with both experiments and simulations where a lamellar phase is observed.…”