Actuation Behavior of Multilayer Graphene Nanosheets/Polydimethylsiloxane Composite Films

A Review on the Applications of Graphene in Mechanical Transduction

A pressing need to develop low-cost, environmentally friendly, and sensitive sensors has arisen with the advent of the always-connected paradigm of the internet-of-things (IoT). In particular, mechanical sensors have been widely studied in recent years for applications ranging from health monitoring, through mechanical biosignals, to structure integrity analysis. On the other hand, innovative ways to implement mechanical actuation have also been the focus of intense research in an attempt to close the circle of human-machine interaction, and move toward applications in flexible electronics. Due to its potential scalability, disposability, and outstanding properties, graphene has been thoroughly studied in the field of mechanical transduction. The applications of graphene in mechanical transduction are reviewed here. An overview of sensor and actuator applications is provided, covering different transduction mechanisms such as piezoresistivity, capacitive sensing, optically interrogated displacement, piezoelectricity, triboelectricity, electrostatic actuation, chemomechanical and thermomechanical actuation, as well as thermoacoustic emission. A critical review of the main approaches is presented within the scope of a wider discussion on the future of this so-called wonder material in the field of mechanical transduction.

Electro-responsive actuators based on graphene

Electro-responsive actuators (ERAs) hold great promise for cutting-edge applications in e-skins, soft robots, unmanned flight, and in vivo surgery devices due to the advantages of fast response, precise control, programmable deformation, and the ease of integration with control circuits. Recently, considering the excellent physical/chemical/mechanical properties (e.g., high carrier mobility, strong mechanical strength, outstanding thermal conductivity, high specific surface area, flexibility, and transparency), graphene and its derivatives have emerged as an appealing material in developing ERAs. In this review, we have summarized the recent advances in graphene-based ERAs. Typical the working mechanisms of graphene ERAs have been introduced. Design principles and working performance of three typical types of graphene ERAs (e.g., electrostatic actuators, electrothermal actuators, and ionic actuators) have been comprehensively summarized. Besides, emerging applications of graphene ERAs, including artificial muscles, bionic robots, human-soft actuators interaction, and other smart devices, have been reviewed. At last, the current challenges and future perspectives of graphene ERAs are discussed.

Silicone Rubber Composites Reinforced by Carbon Nanofillers and Their Hybrids for Various Applications: A Review

Without fillers, rubber types such as silicone rubber exhibit poor mechanical, thermal, and electrical properties. Carbon black (CB) is traditionally used as a filler in the rubber matrix to improve its properties, but a high content (nearly 60 per hundred parts of rubber (phr)) is required. However, this high content of CB often alters the viscoelastic properties of the rubber composite. Thus, nowadays, nanofillers such as graphene (GE) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are used, which provide significant improvements to the properties of composites at as low as 2–3 phr. Nanofillers are classified as those fillers consisting of at least one dimension below 100 nanometers (nm). In the present review paper, nanofillers based on carbon nanomaterials such as GE, CNT, and CB are explored in terms of how they improve the properties of rubber composites. These nanofillers can significantly improve the properties of silicone rubber (SR) nanocomposites and have been useful for a wide range of applications, such as strain sensing. Therefore, carbon-nanofiller-reinforced SRs are reviewed here, along with advancements in this research area. The microstructures, defect densities, and crystal structures of different carbon nanofillers for SR nanocomposites are characterized, and their processing and dispersion are described. The dispersion of the rubber composites was reported through atomic force microscopy (AFM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The effect of these nanofillers on the mechanical (compressive modulus, tensile strength, fracture strain, Young’s modulus, glass transition), thermal (thermal conductivity), and electrical properties (electrical conductivity) of SR nanocomposites is also discussed. Finally, the application of the improved SR nanocomposites as strain sensors according to their filler structure and concentration is discussed. This detailed review clearly shows the dependency of SR nanocomposite properties on the characteristics of the carbon nanofillers.

Transition metal dichalcogenides integrated waveguide modulator and attenuator in silicon nitride platform

Embedding transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) into optical devices enhance the light-matter interaction, which holds a great promise for designing compact integrated photonic components. The chemical composition and thickness of TMDs affect their electronic and optical properties. The optical properties demonstrate stable and strong gate tunable optical response near the excitonic transitions. These materials are, therefore, promising candidates for designing electro-optic modulators and attenuators. Here, an electro-absorption modulator is investigated based on integrating different TMD monolayers on silicon nitride waveguides near the excitonic binding energy. A comparison of absorption changes due to electrostatically induced charges in MoS₂, MoSe₂, WS₂, WSe_2, and graphene has been presented for modulator design. The results show that with the confinement factor of about 0.10% in the monolayer TMDs, the modulation strength is 10x higher in WS₂ as compared to the graphene-based modulator design. The WS₂ based modulator shows the highest modulation strength with an improvement by a factor of 5 as compared to Mo based designs. Further, the change in the spectral response of these materials with thickness and chemical composition has been exploited for the design of attenuator. A micro-opto-mechanical system technology with TMD integrated supersubstrate above a Si₃N₄ waveguide affecting the optical response is investigated. By replacing the TMD in the supersubstrate with Se atom instead of S in the MX₂ and WX₂ compound, the attenuation is shifted from visible to near-infrared range allowing tuning from 620 to 750 nm. The tuning of the attenuation wavelength will help the designer choose the best material for visible light photonic applications.

Optimized CNT-PDMS Flexible Composite for Attachable Health-Care Device

The CNT-PDMS composite has been widely adopted in flexible devices due to its high elasticity, piezoresistivity, and biocompatibility. In a wide range of applications, CNT-PDMS composite sensors were used for resistive strain measurement. Accordingly, the percolation threshold 2%~4% of the CNT weight ratio in the CNT-PDMS composite was commonly selected, which is expected to achieve the optimized piezoresistive sensitivity. However, the linear range around the percolation threshold weight ratio (2%~4%) limits its application in a stable output of large strain (>20%). Therefore, comprehensive understanding of the electromechanical, mechanical, and electrical properties for the CNT-PDMS composite with different CNT weight ratios was expected. In this paper, a systematic study was conducted on the piezoresistivity, Young’s modulus, conductivity, impedance, and the cross-section morphology of different CNT weight ratios (1 to 10 wt%) of the CNT-PDMS composite material. It was experimentally observed that the piezo-resistive sensitivity of CNT-PDMS negatively correlated with the increase in the CNT weight ratio. However, the electrical conductivity, Young’s modulus, tensile strength, and the linear range of piezoresistive response of the CNT-PDMS composite positively correlated with the increase in CNT weight ratio. Furthermore, the mechanism of these phenomena was analyzed through the cross-section morphology of the CNT-PDMS composite material by using SEM imaging. From this analysis, a guideline was proposed for large strain (40%) measurement applications (e.g., motion monitoring of the human body of the finger, arm, foot, etc.), the CNT weight ratio 8 wt% was suggested to achieve the best piezoresistive sensitivity in the linear range.

Enhanced Dielectric Properties of a Poly(dimethyl siloxane) Bimodal Network Percolative Composite with MXene

Excellent comprehensive dielectric properties (including dielectric constant and loss) are essential for electromechanical transducers. This work introduced a bimodal network composite with poly(dimethyl siloxane) (PDMS) and delaminated Ti₃C₂T_x sheets (d-Ti₃C₂T_x) modified with hyperbranched polysiloxane (HPSi) (referred to as HPSi-d-Ti₃C₂T_x). Before the final cross-linking, HPSi-d-Ti₃C₂T_x, trapped with short-chain PDMS (C_S-PDMS) and long-chain PDMS (C_L-PDMS), was pre-reacted, which formed a distinct bimodal network structure. d-Ti₃C₂T_x/PDMS and HPSi-d-Ti₃C₂T_x/PDMS composites with different filler loadings were prepared, and their percolation thresholds (f_c) were 1.32 and 1.43 vol %, respectively The dielectric constant of 1.40 vol % HPSi-d-Ti₃C₂T_x/PDMS is 23.7 at 10² Hz, which is 1.5 times that of 1.28 vol % d-Ti₃C₂T_x/PDMS and 8.5 times that of pure PDMS. Meanwhile, the dielectric loss of HPSi-d-Ti₃C₂T_x/PDMS composite is still relatively small (0.11 at 10³ Hz). The origin of dielectric property optimization of the composite is attributed to the boundary capacitor model, the accumulated charges at the interfaces between the conductive filler and the insulating polymer matrix of the composite, and the distinct bimodal network structure.