Abstract
In this work, shape memory materials were developed for use as soft actuators. Shape memory polymers (SMPs) generally demonstrate good actuation on direct thermal heating. Here, we also demonstrate SMPs with good electric actuation via the incorporation of dibutyl adipate (DBA) plasticizers with shape memory polyurethane to form an SMP gel, which is a soft dielectric material. The effect of the plasticizer on the shape memory behavior under thermal stimulus was investigated. The SMP gel had faster shape recovery than the pure SMP and almost fully recovery. A dielectric SMP actuator was prepared and its two-way shape deformation of contraction and expansion, were investigated over 6 electric on-off cycles. The largest contraction reached 6.76 % with an electric field of 34.24 V/μm. The developed dielectric elastomer actuator displayed a multifunctional response to thermal and electric stimuli. This material has potential for alternative actuation applications including biomaterials.
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