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Feng W, Sun L, Jin Z, Chen L, Liu Y, Xu H, Wang C. A large-strain and ultrahigh energy density dielectric elastomer for fast moving soft robot. Nat Commun 2024; 15:4222. [PMID: 38762507 PMCID: PMC11102557 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-48243-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2023] [Accepted: 04/24/2024] [Indexed: 05/20/2024] Open
Abstract
Dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs) with large actuation strain and high energy density are highly desirable for actuating soft robots. However, DEAs usually require high driving electric fields (>100 MV m-1) to achieve high performances due to the low dielectric constant and high stiffness of dielectric elastomers (DEs). Here, we introduce polar fluorinated groups and nanodomains aggregated by long alkyl side chains into DE design, simultaneously endowing DE with a high dielectric constant and desirable modulus. Our DE exhibits a maximum area strain of 253% at a low driving electric field of 46 MV m-1. Notably, it achieves an ultrahigh specific energy of 225 J kg-1 at only 40 MV m-1, around 6 times higher than natural muscle and twice higher than the state-of-the-art DE. Using our DE, soft robots reach an ultrafast running speed of 20.6 BL s-1, 60 times higher than that of commercial VHB 4910, representing the fastest DEA-driven soft robots ever reported.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenwen Feng
- Key Lab of Organic Optoelectronics & Molecular Engineering, Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University, 100084, Beijing, China
| | - Lin Sun
- Key Lab of Organic Optoelectronics & Molecular Engineering, Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University, 100084, Beijing, China
| | - Zhekai Jin
- Key Lab of Organic Optoelectronics & Molecular Engineering, Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University, 100084, Beijing, China
| | - Lili Chen
- Key Lab of Organic Optoelectronics & Molecular Engineering, Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University, 100084, Beijing, China
| | - Yuncong Liu
- Key Lab of Organic Optoelectronics & Molecular Engineering, Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University, 100084, Beijing, China
| | - Hao Xu
- Key Lab of Organic Optoelectronics & Molecular Engineering, Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University, 100084, Beijing, China
| | - Chao Wang
- Key Lab of Organic Optoelectronics & Molecular Engineering, Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University, 100084, Beijing, China.
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Filippova OV, Maksimkin AV, Dayyoub T, Larionov DI, Telyshev DV. Sustainable Elastomers for Actuators: "Green" Synthetic Approaches and Material Properties. Polymers (Basel) 2023; 15:2755. [PMID: 37376401 DOI: 10.3390/polym15122755] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2023] [Revised: 06/09/2023] [Accepted: 06/16/2023] [Indexed: 06/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Elastomeric materials have great application potential in actuator design and soft robot development. The most common elastomers used for these purposes are polyurethanes, silicones, and acrylic elastomers due to their outstanding physical, mechanical, and electrical properties. Currently, these types of polymers are produced by traditional synthetic methods, which may be harmful to the environment and hazardous to human health. The development of new synthetic routes using green chemistry principles is an important step to reduce the ecological footprint and create more sustainable biocompatible materials. Another promising trend is the synthesis of other types of elastomers from renewable bioresources, such as terpenes, lignin, chitin, various bio-oils, etc. The aim of this review is to address existing approaches to the synthesis of elastomers using "green" chemistry methods, compare the properties of sustainable elastomers with the properties of materials produced by traditional methods, and analyze the feasibility of said sustainable elastomers for the development of actuators. Finally, the advantages and challenges of existing "green" methods of elastomer synthesis will be summarized, along with an estimation of future development prospects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olga V Filippova
- Institute for Bionic Technologies and Engineering, I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University (Sechenov University), Bolshaya Pirogovskaya Street 2-4, 119991 Moscow, Russia
| | - Aleksey V Maksimkin
- Institute for Bionic Technologies and Engineering, I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University (Sechenov University), Bolshaya Pirogovskaya Street 2-4, 119991 Moscow, Russia
| | - Tarek Dayyoub
- Institute for Bionic Technologies and Engineering, I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University (Sechenov University), Bolshaya Pirogovskaya Street 2-4, 119991 Moscow, Russia
- Department of Physical Chemistry, National University of Science and Technology "MISIS", 119049 Moscow, Russia
| | - Dmitry I Larionov
- Institute for Bionic Technologies and Engineering, I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University (Sechenov University), Bolshaya Pirogovskaya Street 2-4, 119991 Moscow, Russia
| | - Dmitry V Telyshev
- Institute for Bionic Technologies and Engineering, I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University (Sechenov University), Bolshaya Pirogovskaya Street 2-4, 119991 Moscow, Russia
- Institute of Biomedical Systems, National Research University of Electronic Technology, Zelenograd, 124498 Moscow, Russia
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Sheima Y, Venkatesan TR, Frauenrath H, Opris DM. Synthesis of polysiloxane elastomers modified with sulfonyl side groups and their electromechanical response. JOURNAL OF MATERIALS CHEMISTRY. C 2023; 11:7367-7376. [PMID: 37304728 PMCID: PMC10249063 DOI: 10.1039/d3tc00200d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2023] [Accepted: 04/18/2023] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Dielectric elastomer transducers are elastic capacitors that respond to mechanical or electrical stress. They can be used in applications such as millimeter-sized soft robots and harvesters of the energy contained in ocean waves. The dielectric component of these capacitors is a thin elastic film, preferably made of a material having a high dielectric permittivity. When properly designed, these materials convert electrical energy into mechanical energy and vice versa, as well as thermal energy into electrical energy and vice versa. Whether a polymer can be used for one or the other application is determined by its glass transition temperature (Tg), which should be significantly below room temperature for the former and around room temperature for the latter function. Herein, we report a polysiloxane elastomer modified with polar sulfonyl side groups to contribute to this field with a powerful new material. This material has a dielectric permittivity as high as 18.4 at 10 kHz and 20 °C, a relatively low conductivity of 5 × 10-10 S cm-1, and a large actuation strain of 12% at an electric field of 11.4 V μm-1 (0.25 Hz and 400 V). At 0.5 Hz and 400 V, the actuator showed a stable actuation of 9% over 1000 cycles. The material exhibited a Tg of -13.6 °C, which although is well below room temperature affected the material's response in actuators, which shows significant differences in the response at different frequencies and temperatures and in films with different thicknesses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yauhen Sheima
- Laboratory for Functional Polymers Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology Empa Überlandstrasse 129 Dübendorf CH-8600 Switzerland
- Institute of Chemical Sciences and Engineering Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL) Station 6 Lausanne CH-1015 Switzerland
| | - Thulasinath Raman Venkatesan
- Laboratory for Functional Polymers Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology Empa Überlandstrasse 129 Dübendorf CH-8600 Switzerland
| | - Holger Frauenrath
- Institute of Chemical Sciences and Engineering Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL) Station 6 Lausanne CH-1015 Switzerland
| | - Dorina M Opris
- Laboratory for Functional Polymers Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology Empa Überlandstrasse 129 Dübendorf CH-8600 Switzerland
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All-Polymer Piezo-Composites for Scalable Energy Harvesting and Sensing Devices. Molecules 2022; 27:molecules27238524. [PMID: 36500619 PMCID: PMC9741343 DOI: 10.3390/molecules27238524] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2022] [Revised: 11/08/2022] [Accepted: 11/30/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Silicone elastomer composites with piezoelectric properties, conferred by incorporated polyimide copolymers, with pressure sensors similar to human skin and kinetic energy harvester capabilities, were developed as thin film (<100 micron thick) layered architecture. They are based on polymer materials which can be produced in industrial amounts and are scalable for large areas (m2). The piezoelectric properties of the tested materials were determined using a dynamic mode of piezoelectric force microscopy. These composite materials bring together polydimethylsiloxane polymers with customized poly(siloxane-imide) copolymers (2−20 wt% relative to siloxanes), with siloxane segments inserted into the structure to ensure the compatibility of the components. The morphology of the materials as free-standing films was studied by SEM and AFM, revealing separated phases for higher polyimide concentration (10, 20 wt%). The composites show dielectric behavior with a low loss (<10−1) and a relative permittivity superior (3−4) to pure siloxane within a 0.1−106 Hz range. The composite in the form of a thin film can generate up to 750 mV under contact with a 30 g steel ball dropped from 10 cm high. This capability to convert a pressure signal into a direct current for the tested device has potential for applications in self-powered sensors and kinetic energy-harvesting applications. Furthermore, the materials preserve the known electromechanical properties of pure polysiloxane, with lateral strain actuation values of up to 6.2% at 28.9 V/μm.
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Kang Z, Yu L, Nie Y, Skov AL. Crosslinking Methodology for Imidazole-Grafted Silicone Elastomers Allowing for Dielectric Elastomers Operated at Low Electrical Fields with High Strains. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2022; 14:51384-51393. [PMID: 36342693 PMCID: PMC9673063 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.2c16086] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2022] [Accepted: 10/24/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
For improved actuation at low voltages of dielectric elastomers, a high dielectric permittivity has been targeted for several years but most successful methods then either increase the stiffness of the elastomer and/or introduce notable losses of both mechanical and dielectric nature. For polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-based elastomers, most high-permittivity moieties inhibit the sensitive platinum catalyst used in the addition curing scheme. In contrast to the classical addition curing pathway to prepare PDMS elastomers, here, an alternative strategy is reported to prepare PDMS elastomers via the crosslinking reaction between multifunctional imidazole-grafted PDMS with difunctional bis(1-ethylene-imidazole-3-ium) bromide ionic liquid (bis-IL). The prepared IL-elastomer entails uniformly dispersed IL and presents stable mechanical and dielectric properties due to the covalent nature of the crosslinking as opposed to previously reported physical mixing in of ILs. The relative permittivity was improved up to 200% by including the bis-IL in the elastomer, and Young's modulus was around 0.04 MPa. As a result of the excellent combination of properties, the dielectric actuator developed exhibits an area strain of 20% at 15 V/μm. The novel strategy to prepare PDMS elastomers provides a new paradigm for achieving high-performance dielectric elastomer actuators by a simple methodology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhaoqing Kang
- Danish
Polymer Center, Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Kgs. Lyngby2800, Denmark
- CAS
Key Laboratory of Green Process and Engineering, Beijing Key Laboratory
of Ionic Liquids Clean Process, State Key Laboratory of Multiphase
Complex Systems, Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing100190, China
| | - Liyun Yu
- Danish
Polymer Center, Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Kgs. Lyngby2800, Denmark
| | - Yi Nie
- CAS
Key Laboratory of Green Process and Engineering, Beijing Key Laboratory
of Ionic Liquids Clean Process, State Key Laboratory of Multiphase
Complex Systems, Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing100190, China
| | - Anne Ladegaard Skov
- Danish
Polymer Center, Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Kgs. Lyngby2800, Denmark
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Cazacu M, Dascalu M, Stiubianu GT, Bele A, Tugui C, Racles C. From passive to emerging smart silicones. REV CHEM ENG 2022. [DOI: 10.1515/revce-2021-0089] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Amassing remarkable properties, silicones are practically indispensable in our everyday life. In most classic applications, they play a passive role in that they cover, seal, insulate, lubricate, water-proof, weather-proof etc. However, silicone science and engineering are highly innovative, seeking to develop new compounds and materials that meet market demands. Thus, the unusual properties of silicones, coupled with chemical group functionalization, has allowed silicones to gradually evolve from passive materials to active ones, meeting the concept of “smart materials”, which are able to respond to external stimuli. In such cases, the intrinsic properties of polysiloxanes are augmented by various chemical modifications aiming to attach reactive or functional groups, and/or by engineering through proper cross-linking pattern or loading with suitable fillers (ceramic, magnetic, highly dielectric or electrically conductive materials, biologically active, etc.), to add new capabilities and develop high value materials. The literature and own data reflecting the state-of-the art in the field of smart silicones, such as thermoplasticity, self-healing ability, surface activity, electromechanical activity and magnetostriction, thermo-, photo-, and piezoresponsivity are reviewed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Cazacu
- Department of Inorganic Polymers , “Petru Poni” Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry , Aleea Gr. Ghica Voda 41A , 700487 Iasi , Romania
| | - Mihaela Dascalu
- Department of Inorganic Polymers , “Petru Poni” Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry , Aleea Gr. Ghica Voda 41A , 700487 Iasi , Romania
| | - George-Theodor Stiubianu
- Department of Inorganic Polymers , “Petru Poni” Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry , Aleea Gr. Ghica Voda 41A , 700487 Iasi , Romania
| | - Adrian Bele
- Department of Inorganic Polymers , “Petru Poni” Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry , Aleea Gr. Ghica Voda 41A , 700487 Iasi , Romania
| | - Codrin Tugui
- Department of Inorganic Polymers , “Petru Poni” Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry , Aleea Gr. Ghica Voda 41A , 700487 Iasi , Romania
| | - Carmen Racles
- Department of Inorganic Polymers , “Petru Poni” Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry , Aleea Gr. Ghica Voda 41A , 700487 Iasi , Romania
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