Multilayer Stack Actuator Made From New Prestrain-Free Dielectric Elastomers

The best performing dielectric elastomer materials reported thus far are commercial products manufactured for applications unrelated to electro-mechanical transduction. Prestretching is commonly employed to obtain high actuation strain and energy density. The limited knowledge of the polymers' chemical structure makes it difficult to re-formulate the polymers for significantly improved overall material performance. We report the synthesis of new acrylate-based dielectric elastomers that exhibit high actuation strain without prestretching. Mixtures of commercial acrylate monomers and other additives are copolymerized by UV-initiated radical polymerization to form thin dielectric elastomer membranes. This processing can readily be scaled up to fabricate multi-layer stacked actuators with 11% linear actuation strain.