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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 7, 2026

Fabrication Process of Silicone-based Dielectric Elastomer Actuators

Fabrication Process of Silicone-based Dielectric Elastomer Actuators

Published on: February 1, 2016

Disposable Foamed Silicone Composite Actuator Powered by Sublimation.

Igor Bezsudnov¹, Alina Khmelnitskaia¹, Aleksandra Kalinina¹

¹Enikolopov Institute of Synthetic Polymeric Materials of Russian Academy of Sciences (ISPM RAS), Profsoyuznaya Str. 70, 117393 Moscow, Russia.

|November 27, 2025

Summary

Researchers developed novel soft actuators by adding a sublimating substance to the working liquid. This innovation enhances actuation strain by up to 20% for certain alcohols, creating potential for disposable safety switches.

Keywords:

open-air performance rejuvenation procedure silicone foam soft actuator sublimation working liquid

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Last Updated: Jul 7, 2026

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Area of Science:

Materials Science
Robotics
Biomedical Engineering

Background:

Soft actuators are crucial for devices, human-machine interfaces, and biomedical applications.
Existing soft actuators utilize foamed silicone matrices with working liquids (WL) undergoing phase transitions.
The need for enhanced actuation strain and novel functionalities drives current research.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the effect of adding a sublimation substance (SS) to the working liquid (WL) in soft actuators.
To enhance the actuation strain of silicone-based soft actuators.
To explore the potential of these modified actuators as disposable safety devices.

Main Methods:

Incorporation of benzoic acid as a sublimation substance into C1-C3 alcohol working liquids.
Testing of soft actuators with the modified working liquid using a two-stage heating mode.
Analysis of actuation strain changes with and without the sublimation substance.

Main Results:

A rejuvenation procedure effectively fills actuator pores with the working liquid + sublimation substance solution.
Addition of benzoic acid increased composite strain by approximately 20% for methanol and ethanol as working liquids.
Actuation strain remained largely unchanged for C3 propanols.
High diffusion in open-air conditions resulted in single-use actuation, suggesting disposable actuator applications.

Conclusions:

The addition of a sublimation substance is a viable method for enhancing soft actuator performance.
Modified soft actuators show potential for disposable applications, such as safety switches.
This research opens avenues for developing powerful, multipurpose soft safety devices.