Electroactive interface-enhanced dielectric elastomer with ultrahigh electroadhesion and multifunctional droplet actuation.

Abstract

Dielectric elastomers (DEs) with high energy conversion density are highly desirable for flexible actuation and sensing applications. However, current DEs only perform well under electrical actuation, incapable of regulating interfacial interactions between materials and their environment, such as active control of electroadhesion and electrowetting-on-dielectric (EWOD). Herein, we report a method using polar small-molecule additives to enable electroactive interfacial regulation in DEs. For electroadhesion, the electroactive interface-enhanced dielectric elastomer (EIEDE) with a metal mesh electrode attains adhesion strength of 31.75 kilopascals at 14 megavolts per meter, which is 488 times greater than that before modification. For EWOD performance, the EIEDE induces droplet contact angle to decrease sharply from 83.15° to 9.92°, showing the best electric-field response among DEs and enabling functions like droplet transport and shape modulation. The EIEDE simultaneously integrates large-strain deformation with electroactive interfacial regulation, achieving breakthrough performance in superhigh electroadhesion and excellent EWOD performance.