Carbon black-BaTiO3/silicone rubber electroactive nanocomposites with large strain coefficient

High driving fields have blocked the development of dielectric elastomers from practical applications. Keeping high dielectric permittivity but low modulus of the elastomers is a prospect way to reduce the driving field. In this letter, carbon black-BaTiO₃/liquid-state silicone rubber (CB-BT/RTV) three-component electroactive nanocomposites were fabricated by simple blending method. Results showed that both CB and BT particles were well-dispersed in silicone rubber matrix. Percolation appeared when the volume fraction of CB (f_CB) was 0.039(in BT enforced RTV matrix having f_BT=0.07). A remarkably increase of strain coefficient K was discovered at this critical point. The three-component electroactuation nanocomposites with large K could reduce the driving field dramatically and have potential applications as artificial muscle and electric actuator.