Flexible Silicone Rubber Research Articles

A sandwich-structured 1-3 type piezoelectric composite material for enhancing reliability

This study proposes a sandwich structure 1-3 piezoelectric composite, incorporating flexible silicone rubber to enhance the thickness vibration mode of piezoelectric ceramics. Rigid aluminum nitride (AlN) is employed to bolster the mechanical stability of the composite. Utilizing equivalent parameter theory, we establish a mathematical model for the sandwich structure composite material. The impact of the piezoelectric phase size and the volume fraction of AlN on several performance parameters of the material are analyzed, including the thickness electromechanical coupling coefficient, density, sound velocity, and characteristic impedance. The sandwich structure piezoelectric composite was fabricated using the "cutting and filling" technique. Experimental outcomes reveal that this material demonstrates concentrated thickness vibration modes, with a thickness electromechanical coupling coefficient reaching as high as 0.72, a 16.6 % increase compared to traditional 1-3 piezoelectric composites. Results from thermal shock tests and tensile tests suggest that the sandwich structure 1-3 piezoelectric composite has considerable potential for use in highly reliable low-frequency receiving transducers.

Flexible composite films with ultrahigh through-plane thermal conductivity yet low graphene content

Graphene-based polymeric composites have become one of the promising thermal interface materials (TIMs) for the high integration electronic devices due to the excellent intrinsic thermal conductivity of graphene. However, the challenges still remain, such as ordered alignment of graphene in elastic polymer and regulation of phonon scattering at graphene/graphene interface. In this study, a vertically oriented graphene framework within a flexible silicone rubber matrix was fabricated by non-solvent induced phase separation (NIPs) coupled with an in in-situ welding technique. The as-prepared film exhibits an outstanding through-plane thermal conductivity of 29.5W/mK at low graphene loading of 7.5 wt%, which indicates an exceptionally high thermal conductivity enhancement per 1 wt% graphene content (specific TCE) over 1950 %/wt%. Furthermore, the composite films demonstrate excellent conformability inherited from the silicone rubber matrix and achieves low contact resistance of 40–70 Kmm2W−1 under various pressure and interfacial conditions. This study contributes to a deeper insight into the development of the high-performance graphene-based polymeric TIMs.

Facile preparation of conductive silicone rubber composite foams with tunable cell morphologies and absorption-dominant characteristics

Flexible silicone rubber (SR) foams with tunable cellular morphologies were fabricated via supercritical CO2 foaming. Conductive carbon black (CB) modified at a low cost and with high complex viscosity was preferentially selected. The effects of the pore size and void fraction on the electrical conductivity and dielectric permittivity of the SR/CB composite foams were carefully investigated. The pore size of the foams affected the specific shielding effectiveness (SSE) and absorption coefficient (A), whereas the variation in the void fraction did not generate evident changes. In comparison with its solid counterpart, a foam with a pore diameter of 59.9 μm showed a 50 % decrease in density, 31.6 % increase in absorptivity, and 95.7 % increase in SSE, demonstrating a considerable electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness (EMI SE). Decreases in the pore size and void fraction of the foams improved compression modulus and strength. In addition, sample preparation process was simplified, making industrial production easier.

Honeycomb networks of boron nitride/nanodiamond with interlocking interfaces enhance the application reliability of silicone rubber thermal conductivity composites

AbstractThe three‐dimensional (3D) boron nitride (BN) thermal conductive networks, crafted through layer‐by‐layer assembly, hold tremendous potential for the development of insulating thermal interface materials (TIMs) with exceptional thermal conductivity. Nevertheless, maintaining the thermal conductive stability of this structure type during application remains a considerable challenge. Herein, initially, the honeycomb networks of boron nitride/nanodiamond (ND/kBN) with interlocking interfaces were prepared by electrostatic self‐assembly and ice template method. Subsequently, thermal conductivity composites of flexible silicone rubber (VQM) were acquired through vacuum‐assisted infiltration. The composites demonstrated improved through‐plane thermal conductivity with 1.03 W/(m K) at a 9.9 vol% content of ND/kBN while exhibiting relatively ideal dielectric properties. More importantly, the thermal conductive properties of the composites still maintain at 96.1% and 91.9%, respectively, even after undergoing 30% compressive deformation for 1 h and being bent 300 times. This study presents a novel strategy that not only improves the thermal conductivity of composites but also ensures the reliability of their applications.Highlights Nanodiamond (ND) is anchored onto the kBN surface by electrostatic self‐assembly. ND/kBN filler honeycomb network with an interlocking interface was prepared. Flexible composites with high thermal conductivity (TC) were prepared. The composites exhibit excellent TC stability after experiencing deformation.

Fabrication of robust superhydrophobic surface on silicone rubber

Robust superhydrophobic surfaces with periodic array structures composed of circular silica islands on silicone rubber substrates were fabricated using a combination of multi-laser exposure and chemical modification. Abrasion tests with sandpaper demonstrate that hard silica regions on the surface can protect the silicone rubber region from external damage, resulting in long-lasting superhydrophobicity. Moreover, with an increase in area fraction and a decrease in array hole radius, the wear of the filled superhydrophobic silica is slowed while the protection for the silicone rubber region is enhanced. Particularly, the optimum surface geometry had an area fraction of 35 % and array hole radius of 100 μm retaining its hydrophobicity up to 63 times of abrasion, eight times more than that of the superhydrophobic surface processed by lasers alone. The results of a sand impact test confirmed the resulting surface's resilience in an aeolian sand environment. This research demonstrated the feasibility of producing robust, superhydrophobic surfaces on flexible silicone rubber substrates and providing a foundation for improving and innovating related products.

1-3-Type piezoelectric composites with three-layer cascade structure

This paper proposes a 1-3-type piezoelectric composite structure based on a three-layer cascade structure, utilizing flexible silicone rubber to promote the thickness vibration mode of piezoelectric ceramics. The sandwiched ceramic layer is adopted to improve the mechanical stability. Based on the uniform field theory, we build a theoretical model for the cascade composite and analyze how the thickness of the sandwiched layer and the volume fraction of the ceramic component affect the performance parameters, including the thickness electromechanical coupling coefficient, the density, the sound velocity and the characteristic impedance. Finite element analysis is employed to evaluate the material and validate the theoretical model. The three-layer cascade piezoelectric composites are fabricated using the “dice-and-fill” technique. The tested results demonstrate that the cascade piezoelectric composite exhibits a concentrated thickness vibration mode, and its thickness electromechanical coupling coefficient is up to 0.71, which is 15.5% higher than that of traditional 1–3 piezoelectric composites. It has great potential in developing promising ultrasonic transducers with high transmitting-receiving response.

RCS reduction using embedded meta-structure absorber in X-band

One approach for lowering radar cross section (RCS) is by reducing reflection, which can be achieved by use of absorbers. Embedded meta-structure absorbers (MSAs) are void of metallic resonating structures, which minimize out-of-band reflections thus reducing the chance of detection by radar systems. Here, an X-band MSA is developed by embedding ionic deep eutectic solvent gel as subwavelength cuboidal resonant structures in flexible silicone rubber. The material properties and structural geometry of the gel combines to enhance the dB absorption bandwidth to more than . The fabricated Gel-Si MSA is sufficiently flexible with an overall thickness of . dB RCS reduction is evaluated in the range over the X-band. The RCS properties are insensitive to polarization angles up to and incident angle up to .

Superhydrophobic Flexible Silicone Rubber with Stable Performance, Anti-Icing, and Multilevel Rough Structure

Superhydrophobic surfaces made of flexible materials have attracted much attention in the fields of wearable and flexible devices. In this work, an easy-to-process, fluorine-free, mechanically stable superhydrophobic surface with a multilayered rough structure was fabricated by the template/spraying method using silicone rubber with mechanical flexibility, electrical insulation, and bio-inertness. It can form an air layer between the droplet and the sample, reducing the contact area between the droplet and the sample, and its contact angle can reach 170° and the rolling angle can be 2.5°. After many bendings and twistings, the sample still maintains excellent superhydrophobic performance. The contact angle of the sample still exceeded 150° after 100 cm of abrasion on the sandpaper. Droplets can bounce many times on the sample surface without being stuck. Compared with the control surface, the time from the beginning of precooling to the complete freezing of droplets on the superhydrophobic surface was extended by a factor of 3.4 at −10 °C. Therefore, this research still has a bright application prospect in extreme environments.

Broadband absorber with dispersive metamaterials

Abstract A broadband absorber that utilizes a dispersive metamaterial and covers the entire microwave X-band (8–12 GHz) is proposed in the present study. An ideal absorber attached to the surface of a perfect electric conductor requires the permittivity of the absorbing layer to be anomalously dispersive in the targeted broad frequency band. We show that anomalous dispersion of the permittivity for the X-band can be fitted to a two-pole Lorentz oscillator model and realized with the use of a double-layered, square-loop metamaterial. We explain the connection between the two-pole oscillator model and the double-layered, square-loop metamaterial using an equivalent circuit model and present explicit design rules for the metamaterial. We fabricate a 4-mm-thick metamaterial absorber with flexible silicon rubber, a resistor element, and conductive wire using carbon and silver conductive ink. Our metamaterial absorber achieves a reflectance of less than −20 dB over the entire X-band region.

Enhanced flexibility and ablative performance of silicone rubber by constructing an interpenetrating zirconium-containing polysiloxane double network

To achieve uniform distribution of heteroatoms in silicone rubber, further simultaneously improving the flexibility and ablation resistance, polydimethylsiloxane with an interpenetrating zirconium-containing double-network (Zr-PDMS) was prepared. Compared to pure PDMS, the tensile strength and elongation-at-break of Zr-PDMS with interpenetrating double-network were increased by 615.33% and 124.23%, respectively, exhibiting significantly enhanced flexibility. Ablation analysis indicated that Zr-PDMS showed excellent anti-ablation performance, exhibiting obviously decreased mass ablation rate and charring rate. Most importantly, different from the crisp charred layers of pure PDMS as well as ZrO2 blends, Zr-PDMS formed stable and coherent charred layers after ablation tests. The improvement correlated to the in-situ formation of tetragonal ZrO2 in the char layer of Zr-PDMS, which could avoid the generation of defects in the ZrO2 blends char layer were discussed in detail. This work provided a new strategy of high flexible silicon rubber with excellent ablative performance, which can be expected to be well applied in the hypersonic spacecrafts.

Stretchable Strain Sensor with Small but Sufficient Adhesion to Skin.

Stretchable strain sensors that use a liquid metal (eutectic gallium-indium alloy; E-GaIn) and flexible silicone rubber (Ecoflex) as the support and adhesive layers, respectively, are demonstrated. The flexibility of Ecoflex and the deformability of E-GaIn enable the sensors to be stretched by 100%. Ecoflex gel has sufficiently large adhesion force to skin, even though the adhesion force is smaller than that for commercially available adhesives. This enables the sensor to be used for non-invasive monitoring of human motion. The mechanical and electrical properties of the sensor are experimentally evaluated. The effectiveness of the proposed sensors is demonstrated by monitoring joint movements, facial expressions, and respiration.

Low-Cost Self-Calibration Data Glove Based on Space-Division Multiplexed Flexible Optical Fiber Sensor.

Wearable devices such as data gloves have experienced tremendous growth over the past two decades. It is vital to develop flexible sensors with fast response, high sensitivity and high stability for intelligent data gloves. Therefore, a tractable low-cost flexible data glove with self-calibration function based on a space-division multiplexed flexible optical fiber sensor is proposed. A simple, stable and economical method was used to fabricate flexible silicone rubber fiber for a stretchable double-layered coaxial cylinder. The test results show that the fiber is not sensitive to the temperature range of (20~50 °C) and exhibits excellent flexibility and high stability under tensile, bending and torsional deformation. In addition, the signal detection part of the data glove enables compact and efficient real-time information acquisition and processing. Combined with a self-calibration function that can improve the accuracy of data acquisition, the data glove can be self-adaptive according to different hand sizes and bending habits. In a gesture capture test, it can accurately recognize and capture each gesture, and guide the manipulator to make the same action. The low-cost, fast-responding and structurally robust data glove has potential applications in areas such as sign language recognition, telemedicine and human–robot interaction.

Electrical Insulation and Radar-Wave Absorption Performances of Nanoferrite/Liquid-Silicone-Rubber Composites.

Novel radar-wave absorption nanocomposites are developed by filling the nanoscaled ferrites of strontium ferroxide (SrFe12O19) and carbonyl iron (CIP) individually into the highly flexible liquid silicone rubber (LSR) considered as dielectric matrix. Nanofiller dispersivities in SrFe12O19/LSR and CIP/LSR nanocomposites are characterized by scanning electronic microscopy, and the mechanical properties, electric conductivity, and DC dielectric-breakdown strength are tested to evaluate electrical insulation performances. Radar-wave absorption performances of SrFe12O19/LSR and CIP/LSR nanocomposites are investigated by measuring electromagnetic response characteristics and radar-wave reflectivity, indicating the high radar-wave absorption is dominantly derived from magnetic losses. Compared with pure LSR, the SrFe12O19/LSR and CIP/LSR nanocomposites represent acceptable reductions in mechanical tensile and dielectric-breakdown strengths, while rendering a substantial nonlinearity of electric conductivity under high electric fields. SrFe12O19/LSR nanocomposites provide high radar-wave absorption in the frequency band of 11~18 GHz, achieving a minimum reflection loss of −33 dB at 11 GHz with an effective absorption bandwidth of 10 GHz. In comparison, CIP/LSR nanocomposites realize a minimum reflection loss of −22 dB at 7 GHz and a remarkably larger effective absorption bandwidth of 3.9 GHz in the lower frequency range of 2~8 GHz. Radar-wave transmissions through SrFe12O19/LSR and CIP/LSR nanocomposites in single- and double-layered structures are analyzed with CST electromagnetic-field simulation software to calculate radar reflectivity for various absorbing-layer thicknesses. Dual-layer absorbing structures are modeled by specifying SrFe12O19/LSR and CIP/LSR nanocomposites, respectively, as match and loss layers, which are predicted to acquire a significant improvement in radar-wave absorption when the thicknesses of match and loss layers approach 1.75 mm and 0.25 mm, respectively.

Preparation of thermally conductive flexible liquid silicone rubber composites by magnetic field‐induced self‐assembly of Fe3O4@C

AbstractEfficient heat dissipation is very crucial for the performance, service life, and reliability of modern electronic devices. It is very challenging to improve heat dissipation efficiency through innovative material structure design. Therefore, in the work, dopamine (PDA) is used to coat the surface of graphite (C) with its excellent surface coating modification ability, so that the C surface has oxygen‐containing groups to change its electronegativity, and Fe2+ and Fe3+ in the solution are attracted to the surface of C, and then in situ redox reaction occurs on the surface of C to generate magnetic graphite (Fe3O4@C). Fe3O4@C is uniformly dispersed into liquid silicone rubber (LSR) by solution blending, and Fe3O4@C performs integral directional filling in the LSR under the action of magnetic field (B = 140 mT), thus preparing Fe3O4@C/LSR composites. Through magnetic field orientation, the thermal conductivity of Fe3O4@C/LSR composites reach 1.25 W/m·K when the content of Fe3O4@C is 100 phr, which is 410% higher than that of pure LSR (0.2447 W/m·K). Infrared thermal imaging test shows that Fe3O4@C/LSR composites has good heat dissipation performance, Fe3O4@C/LSR composites have shown great potential in terms of flexibility and high thermal conductivity.

An X-band meta-structure absorber based on gelated deep eutectic solvent

Herein, a meta-structure absorber (MSA) with gelated deep eutectic solvent (DES) is proposed and investigated at X-band (8.2–12.4 GHz). The ionic property of DES gel assists in enhancing absorption. The unit cell of the MSA is designed using a dumbbell-shaped resonating structure of gelated DES enclosed in a flexible silicone rubber substrate. The embedded dumbbell structure makes the MSA robust by promoting fast recovery after bending. The developed absorber is optimized for wideband absorption. The total thickness of the MSA is <3 mm. The measured results showed −40.02 dB reflection loss at 10.55 GHz with a −10 dB bandwidth of 3.34 GHz (9.06–12.4 GHz). Additionally, the proposed absorber shows polarization and incident angle insensitivity up to an angle of ±50° in both transverse electric and transverse magnetic modes. The mechanism involved in absorption is investigated through field analysis at resonating frequency. Possible application of the designed absorber in antenna isolation is studied for co-sited broadband horn antennas operating at the X-band.

Deep Learning Enabled Neck Motion Detection Using a Triboelectric Nanogenerator.

The state of neck motion reflects cervical health. To detect the motion state of the human neck is of important significance to healthcare intelligence. A practical neck motion detector should be wearable, flexible, power efficient, and low cost. Here, we report such a neck motion detector comprising a self-powered triboelectric sensor group and a deep learning block. Four flexible and stretchable silicon rubber based triboelectric sensors are integrated on a neck collar. With different neck motions, these four sensors lead-out voltage signals with different amplitudes and/or directions. Thus, the combination of these four signals can represent one motion state. Significantly, a carbon-doped silicon rubber layer is attached between the neck collar and the sensors to shield the external electric field (i.e., electrical changes at the skin surface) for a far more robust identification. Furthermore, a deep learning model based on the convolutional neural network is designed to recognize 11 classes of neck motion including eight directions of bending, two directions of twisting, and one resting state with an average recognition accuracy of 92.63%. This developed neck motion detector has promising applications in neck monitoring, rehabilitation, and control.

Lightweight and flexible silicone rubber foam with dopamine grafted multi-walled carbon nanotubes and silver nanoparticles using supercritical foaming technology: Its preparation and electromagnetic interference shielding performance

Herein, dopamine is grafted onto multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), and then grafted dopamine is used as a chemical activation point to initiate the in-situ synthesis of silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs). The foam technology with supercritical N2 (Sc-N2) gas was used to prepare a lightweight and flexible silicone rubber foam material with efficient electromagnetic shielding performance. The prepared material has uniform cells and a density of only 0.3 g/cm3. The electrical conductivity can be achieved as high as 5.69 S/m. At the same time, the optimal modified conductive filler MWCNTs conditions are determined: DOPA concentration is 2 g/L, deposition time is 18 h, formaldehyde concentration is 5 g/L and AgNO3 concentration is 16 g/L. From the perspective of electromagnetic interference shielding performance (EMI SE), the value of prepared silicone rubber foam with 15 parts of MWCNT-PDA-Ag (VMPA15) can reach 36 dB, far exceeding the commercial requirement (20 dB). The EMI shielding performance is also improved with the increased thickness of the sample. When the sample thickness is 10 mm, the EMI SE value can be as high as 52 dB; more importantly, this type of VMPA foam has a shielding mechanism based on absorption, which is the most effective for solving the problem of secondary magnetic pollution caused by electromagnetic wave reflection.

A Robust and Wearable Triboelectric Tactile Patch as Intelligent Human-Machine Interface.

The human–machine interface plays an important role in the diversified interactions between humans and machines, especially by swaping information exchange between human and machine operations. Considering the high wearable compatibility and self-powered capability, triboelectric-based interfaces have attracted increasing attention. Herein, this work developed a minimalist and stable interacting patch with the function of sensing and robot controlling based on triboelectric nanogenerator. This robust and wearable patch is composed of several flexible materials, namely polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), nylon, hydrogels electrode, and silicone rubber substrate. A signal-processing circuit was used in this patch to convert the sensor signal into a more stable signal (the deviation within 0.1 V), which provides a more effective method for sensing and robot control in a wireless way. Thus, the device can be used to control the movement of robots in real-time and exhibits a good stable performance. A specific algorithm was used in this patch to convert the 1D serial number into a 2D coordinate system, so that the click of the finger can be converted into a sliding track, so as to achieve the trajectory generation of a robot in a wireless way. It is believed that the device-based human–machine interaction with minimalist design has great potential in applications for contact perception, 2D control, robotics, and wearable electronics.

Vibration Actuator System with Small-Scale Size Capable of Visual Inspection of Large Complex Iron Structures

Deterioration of social infrastructure equipment has become a major problem in countries around the world. In the present study, a novel vibration actuator system capable of movement on an iron structure having complicated surfaces, such as steps, is proposed. A vibration actuator capable of reciprocating movement with a small-scale size was prototyped and tested. In consideration of mobility, the size of the vibration actuator is designed to be smaller than 50 mm and the total mass is lighter than 20 g. The experimental result demonstrates that the maximum efficiency of the vibration actuator was 28.1%, and the maximum pulling power was 1.8 N. Furthermore, a vibration actuator system in which two vibration actuators and a wheel having a magnetic force connected by a flexible silicone rubber material was prototyped. This actuator system can move over a step of 48 mm in the horizontal plane and 25 mm in the vertical plane without control. Finally, a machine test was conducted on the frame surface moving, which is difficult even for robots. This actuator system can move at an average speed of 12.1 mm/s within the frame.

Design and Properties Analysis of Novel Modified 1-3 Piezoelectric Composite.

With the increasing demand for energy exchangers in underwater acoustic equipment, a modified 1-3 piezoelectric composite material is fabricated based on three-component phases. The new material outperforms the traditional two-phase 1-3 structure. Flexible silicone rubber polymer strengthened the piezoelectric composite and the properties of modified 1-3 piezoelectric composite have been tested by method of finite element simulation and experiment, respectively. This modified material has a high electromechanical coupling coefficient; the maximum can reach 0.684 and −3 dB bandwidth is superior to the two-phase 1-3 type. At the same time, the modified phase 1-3 type structure has an excellent decoupling effect. Silicone rubber can reduce the negative coupling vibration of epoxy resin, the vibration model simplification of piezoelectric composite, and the result of the experiment and simulation has good consistency.