Repository logo

Infoscience

  • English
  • French
Log In
Logo EPFL, École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne

Infoscience

  • English
  • French
Log In
  1. Home
  2. Academic and Research Output
  3. Conferences, Workshops, Symposiums, and Seminars
  4. Inkjet printing of carbon black electrodes for dielectric elastomer actuators
 
conference paper

Inkjet printing of carbon black electrodes for dielectric elastomer actuators

Schlatter, Samuel  
•
Rosset, Samuel  
•
Shea, Herbert  
2017
Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering
Electroactive Polymer Actuators and Devices (EAPAD) 2017

Inkjet printing is an appealing technique to print electrodes for Dielectric Elastomer Actuators (DEAs). Here we present the preparation and ink-jet printing of a carbon black electrode mixture and characterise its properties. Carbon black has been used extensively in the past because it is very compliant; however, it has a high resistance and can be very dirty to work with. In this paper we show that carbon black remains an appropriate electrode material, and when inkjet printed can be used to fabricate devices meeting today’s demanding requirements. DEAs are becoming thinner to decrease actuation voltages and are shrinking in size to match the scale of the devices in the biomedical field, tuneable optics, and microfluidics. Inkjet printing addresses both of these problems. Firstly, Inkjet printing is a non-contact technique and can print on very thin freestanding membranes. Secondly, the high precision of inkjet printers makes it possible to print complex electrode geometries in the millimetre scale. We demonstrate the advantages of inkjet printing and carbon black electrodes by conducting a full characterisation of the printed electrodes. The printed carbon black electrodes have resistances as low as 13kΩ/□, an elastic modulus of approximately 1MPa, and a cyclic resistance swing which increases by 7% over 1500 cycles at 50% stretch. We also demonstrate a DEA with printed carbon black electrodes with a diametral stretch of 8.8% at an electric field of approximately 94V/μm. Finally a qualitative test is conducted to show that the printed carbon black electrode is extremely hardwearing.

  • Files
  • Details
  • Metrics
Type
conference paper
DOI
10.1117/12.2258615
Web of Science ID

WOS:000406532300031

Author(s)
Schlatter, Samuel  
Rosset, Samuel  
Shea, Herbert  
Date Issued

2017

Publisher

Spie-Int Soc Optical Engineering

Publisher place

Bellingham

Published in
Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering
ISBN of the book

978-1-5106-0811-5

978-1-5106-0812-2

Total of pages

9

Series title/Series vol.

Proceedings of SPIE

Volume

10163

Start page

1016311

Subjects

dielectric elastomer actuator

•

inkjet

•

electrodes

•

carbon black

•

printing

•

actuator

•

stretchable

Editorial or Peer reviewed

NON-REVIEWED

Written at

EPFL

EPFL units
LMTS  
Event nameEvent placeEvent date
Electroactive Polymer Actuators and Devices (EAPAD) 2017

Portland, Oregon, USA

March 25, 2017

Available on Infoscience
May 10, 2017
Use this identifier to reference this record
https://infoscience.epfl.ch/handle/20.500.14299/137189
Logo EPFL, École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne
  • Contact
  • infoscience@epfl.ch

  • Follow us on Facebook
  • Follow us on Instagram
  • Follow us on LinkedIn
  • Follow us on X
  • Follow us on Youtube
AccessibilityLegal noticePrivacy policyCookie settingsEnd User AgreementGet helpFeedback

Infoscience is a service managed and provided by the Library and IT Services of EPFL. © EPFL, tous droits réservés