Fabrication of high adhesion cm-scale compliant electrodes for dielectric elastomer transducers using O2 plasma activation

We present a novel methodology for the production of PDMS-carbon powder electrodes with high adhesion for dielectric elastomer (DE) transducers. DE transducers have received significant interest in recent years due to their potential as stretchable-flexible actuators, sensors and energy harvesters. As the field matures, the need for mechanically resilient devices able to perform in "real-world" conditions, not just laboratory environments, increases. Our methodology produces electrodes of various thicknesses using a blade casting technique. The electrodes are subsequently laser cut to the desired shape, the electrode and dielectric membrane activated in oxygen plasma and finally placed in contact to achieve bonding. In this way we are able to produce large area (up to several cm in length) compliant electrodes with impressive adhesion qualities. Electrode adhesion is qualitatively evaluated using the "scotch-tape" method. We also produced multi-segment dielectric elastomer minimum energy structure actuators using this fabrication procedure, validating its ability to produce functional DE devices.