Development of polythiophene / acrylonitrile butadience rubber for artificial muscle

Abstract

Acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber (NBR) and blends of acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber/poly(3-thiopheneacetic acid), NBR/P3TAA, were prepared to investigate electrorheological properties, dielectric properties, and electrical conductivities. Electrorheological properties were carried out under an oscillatory shear mode in range of frequency from 0.1 to 100 rad/s at various electric field strengths from 0 to 2 kV/mm at fixed temperature of 27C ti ibserve tge effect if acrtkibutrile content (ACN) in pure rubbers and particle concentration in the blends. For pure NBR, the storage modulus, G', increases with increasing electric field strength. The storage modulus respons ( G') were corelated with the dielectric constant ( ') to study the effect of ACN content. With increasing ACN content, the modulus linearly increases with dielectric constants. With the conductive polymer particles added into the highest ACN content rubber matrix (NBR1), the modulus of blend film increases because of the electrostriction force between particles and the dielectric constant is also increased.