Compatibilization of porphyrins for use as high permittivity fillers in low voltage actuating silicone dielectric elastomers

Polysiloxanes represent, because of their unusual properties, a material with great potential for use in dielectric elastomers (DEs), a promising class of electroactive polymers. Currently, their application as actuators is limited by the need for high driving voltages, as a result of the low relative permittivity possessed by polysiloxanes (∼2-3). Reducing these voltages can be achieved to some degree by using high permittivity additives to …