Carbon nanotube-elastomer composites for use in dielectric polymer actuators

The high tensile strength and Young's modulus of carbon nanotubes have led to much speculation about their uses. Here we have investigated the increase in permittivity of a commercial silicone by the addition of carbon nanotubes. The resulting percolation threshold is an order of magnitude lower than that of graphite/elastomer composites. This is of importance because filled systems which we have investigated previously have demonstrated a dramatic increase in the Young's modulus of the composite, offsetting any improvement the increased permittivity may have provided the actuator.