Design of elastomer structure to facilitate incorporation of expanded graphite in silicones without compromising electromechanical integrity

The development of elastomer materials with a high dielectric permittivity has attracted increased interest over the past years due to their use in, for example, dielectric elastomers. For this particular use, both the electrically insulating properties — as well as the mechanical properties of the elastomer — have to be tightly controlled in order not to destroy favorable elastic properties by the addition of particles. This study focuses on improving the electromechanical properties of an enhanced PDMS matrix with expanded graphite (EG) as filler. The PDMS matrix is crosslinked by means of an 8‐functional crosslinker, which allows for development of a suitable network matrix. The dielectric permittivity was increased by almost a factor of 4 compared to a benchmark silicone elastomer. The structure of silicone networks is modified to facilitate better incorporation of large sized conducting fillers for better dispersion and improved mechanical and electrical properties.