| About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
MS&T24: Materials Science & Technology
|
| Symposium
|
2024 Undergraduate Student Poster Contest
|
| Presentation Title |
SPU-34: High-permittivity polysiloxane dielectrics obtained through polar group functionalization |
| Author(s) |
Hao Gu, Codrin Tugui, Mihai Duduta |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Hao Gu |
| Abstract Scope |
Dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs) are an emerging field of soft transducer technology with potential applications as soft robotic actuators, generators, sensors, and capacitors. However, PDMS-based DEAs operate on high voltages due to PDMS’s low relative permittivity. We explore the functionalization of hydroxyl-terminated polydimethyl-vinylmethylsiloxane copolymers with polar thiol groups to tune viscoelastic and electrical properties. We find that the functionalized polymer showed an increase in relative permittivity and a decrease in Young’s Modulus compared to PDMS. Electrostatic modeling shows that a DEA made from this novel material would operate on a lower voltage compared to a PDMS-based DEA. In addition to low-voltage operation, the high-permittivity elastomer dielectrics developed in this work allow DEAs and capacitors to be significantly miniaturized, reducing material usage and decreasing electronic waste. Currently, we are working on applications of this improved elastomer in DEA-based non-electromagnetic rotary motors and flexible interdigitated capacitance sensors with high sensing resolution. |