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Silicone elastomers with improved electro-mechanical performance using slide-ring polymers

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Abstract

Slide-ring elastomers have attracted a great deal of interest for their use in dielectric elastomer actuators due to their essential soft character and high elasticity. In general, the slide-ring materials’ usage is limited by their reduced compatibility with usually used elastomer precursors and the specific chemical reactions necessary for their embedding into networks. In this study, we obtained a plasticizing effect on poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) by using polar fillers based on poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene/permethylated β-cyclodextrin) polypseudorotaxane (PEDOT-PMβCD), its corresponding triphenylmethyl-ended PEDOT∙PMβCD polyrotaxane, as well as the reference, PEDOT. The micrometric agglomerates occurred during the thin film manufacturing have a negligible influence on the thermal behavior of PDMS, taking to a decreased Young's modulus, enhancing the elongation at break and the dielectric permittivity. The results and the figures of merit recommend these materials in electromechanical actuators. The best electromechanical performances were obtained using PEDOT-PMβCD filler, with a low Young’s modulus of 0.17 MPa and a doubling of the electromechanical behavior values, up to 5.6% in comparison with those of PDMS.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by a grant of the Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digitization, CNCS/CCCDI–UEFISCDI, project number PN-III-P1-1.1-PD-2019-0148 (SilWebWEH), within PNCDI III.

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  1. Department of Inorganic Polymers, ”Petru Poni” Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry, Aleea Grigore Ghica Voda 41A, 700487, Iasi, Romania

    Adrian Bele, Mihaela Dascalu & Codrin Tugui

  2. Department of Electroactive Polymers and Plasmochemistry, ”Petru Poni” Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry, Aleea Grigore Ghica Voda 41A, 700487, Iasi, Romania

    Aurica Farcas

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  1. Adrian Bele
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Bele, A., Dascalu, M., Tugui, C. et al. Silicone elastomers with improved electro-mechanical performance using slide-ring polymers. J Polym Res 29, 202 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10965-022-03051-0

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