Micropatternable elastic electrets based on a PDMS/carbon nanotube composite

This paper reports the fabrication and performance of an elastic electret based on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)/carbon-nanotube (CNT) nanocomposites. The composite formulation concentrates CNTs near the surface of the PDMS and thereby combines the excellent electrical properties and room temperature micropatternability of the CNT with the elasticity of PDMS. The fabrication approach preserves the good rheological properties of unfilled PDMS and also efficiently utilizes the CNTs. The material was corona charged and the charge storage behavior was characterized using surface potential measurements. Substantial improvements in charge storage capacity and stability were observed compared to either pure PDMS or CNTs on the surface of PDMS at room temperature over a 280 h measurement period. The power generation of the corona-charged elastic composite was initially demonstrated through a ball drop experiment.