Work

Magnifying the Breakdown Strength of Multilayer Dielectric Elastomers via Dry Stacking Embedded Liquid Metal Electrodes

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: ABSTRACT Dielectric elastomers (DEs) are intelligent soft materials widely used in soft robotic actuators. A critical component of dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs) is the flexible electrode, which requires low electrical resistance and minimal stiffness. Liquid metals (LMs) have thus emerged as promising candidates for such electrodes. However, the capacity of multilayer DEAs incorporating LM electrodes is seriously restricted by the electrical breakdown issue. In this article, we introduce a dry stacking fabrication method that significantly magnifies the electrical breakdown strength of multilayer LM‐embedded DEAs. Experiments demonstrated the achievement of a maximum breakdown field strength of 39.84 V µm −1 . The fabricated DEAs via this approach exhibit a rapid dynamic response, with transient static response times below 4 ms, and excellent operational stability when driven at resonance frequency, evidenced by a temperature rise of ∼1.5°C. For practical illustration, the optimized DEA is successfully employed to develop an actuator of a crawling robot, enabling unidirectional movement on an acrylic panel. These results underscore the potential of the proposed dry‐stacked DEAs for advancing high‐performance soft robotic systems.

Source: Advanced Materials Technologies

DOI: 10.1002/admt.202502235

Authors: Wentao Xiang, Jun Su, Jiasheng Zu, Nan Li, Jianye Gao, Jing Liu

Institutions: Chinese Academy of Sciences, Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences

Language: English

Topic: Dielectric materials and actuators

Subfield: Biomedical Engineering

Field: Engineering

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: bronze

Funders: National Natural Science Foundation of China, Natural Science Foundation for Young Scientists of Shanxi Province, Young Scientists Fund

Award: G4436111647