Low-cost scalable printing of carbon nanotube electrodes on elastomeric substrates: Towards the industrial production of EAP transducers

Dielectric elastomer transducers are promising devices for a growing field of applications. However, to be competitive with established electromechanical transducer technologies, low-cost and efficient fabrication process is needed. In particular, the electrode composition and deposition method seem to be the key elements in this context. In this paper, authors use gravure printing for the deposition of thin and compliant MWCNT electrodes on PDMS films. Gravure printing is a high through put deposition method which allows printing complex electrode patterns whit high resolution and, therefore, is well suited for large scale production of dielectric elastomer transducers. Special attention was given to the adaptation of the MWCNT-based ink to the specific requirements of the gravure printing process in order to achieve stable and high quality printing. Furthermore, the effect of oxygen plasma treatment of the silicone substrate on the electro-mechanical behavior of electrode was investigated. In this context a comprehensive characterization of the electrodes behavior under uniaxial and biaxial strain was carried out. Two mechanisms that explain specific aspects of electro-mechanical behavior of electrodes are proposed.