Nematic Elastomer Nanocomposites as Electromechanical Actuators

摘要

This project had a pilot nature, on the one hand, exploring a possibility of active collaboration of our research group with EOARD and (via) the colleagues at Wright- Patterson AFB, on the other - making a focused attempt to explore a novel actuation system based on elastomer composite with aligned carbon nanotubes (CNT). The original proposal and the Interim Report outline the scientific background' and the principles behind the mechanical actuation in nanocomposite elastomers". Our main tasks have been: (A) Develop the robust method of CNT dispersion in amorphous polymeric matrix and establish a set of quantitative methods to characterize the quality of this dispersion. (B) Develop a technique for nanotube alignment on the dense polymer matrix. as well as the tools to characterize the degree of this alignment. (C) Study the mechanical actuation in response to different stimuli: plain heating. IR irradiation. and electric field.