Surface Modification of Anisotropic Dielectric Elastomer Actuators with Uni- and Bi-axially Wrinkled Carbon Electrodes for Wettability Control

Abstract

Interest in soft actuators for next-generation electronic devices, such as wearable electronics, haptic feedback systems, rollable flexible displays, and soft robotics, is rapidly growing. However, for more practical applications in diverse electronic devices, soft actuators require multiple functionalities including anisotropic actuation in three-dimensional space, active tactile feedback, and controllable wettability. Herein, we report anisotropic dielectric elastomer actuators with uni- and bi-axially wrinkled carbon black electrodes that are formed through pre-streching and relaxation processes. The wrinkled dielectric elastomer actuator (WDEA) that shows directional actuation under electric fields is used to control the anisotropic wettability. The morphology changes of the electrode surfaces under various electric stimuli are investigated by measuring the contact angles of water droplets, and the results show that the controllable wettability has a broad range from 141° to 161° along the wrinkle direction. The present study successfully demonstrates that the WDEA under electrically controlled inputs can be used to modulate the uni- or bi-axially wrinkled electrode surfaces with continous roughness levels. The controllable wrinkled structures can play an important role in creating adaptable water repellency and tunable anisotropic wettability.