Approach To The Fabrication Of Acrylic Elastomer Nanocomposites With High Dielectric Constants

Dielectric elastomers (DEs) are a type of electroactive polymer that can deform in an electric field. The possession of a high dielectric constant is critical for DEs if they are to be suitable materials for the application of actuators. A novel elastomeric nanocomposite (ACE-g-CuPc) was fabricated by copper phthalocyanine oligomer (CuPc) grafting directly onto an acrylic elastomer (ACE) backbone. Compared with other synthetic methods, esterification has several advantages; these include fewer impurities and a simpler synthetic route. Transmission electron microscopy showed that the size of the CuPc particles of the ACE-g-CuPc was in the range 15-30 nm; this range was significantly smaller than that of ACE/ CuPc (500 nm). The results of thermogravimetric analysis show that the thermal stability of the grafting composite was higher than that of the blending composite. At 100 Hz, the dielectric constant of the grafting composite (with 11 wt % CuPc) reached 173 at room temperature. (C) 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.