High-consistency silicone rubber with reduced Young's modulus. An industrial option to dielectric silicone rubber

Flexible capacitive sensors based on silicone rubber have gained importance in both academic and industrial fields due to their advantages, including low power consumption and high stability to temperature, and humidity. However, pristine silicone rubber has a low dielectric constant (epsilon'), requiring the use of dielectric additives such as TiO2, BaTiO3, or Sb2O3-doped SnO2 rutile-modified particles (ATO) to enhance electrical properties, but they also increase Young's modulus (E). To overcome this problem, liquid silicone rubbers (LSR) are commonly used in academic research due to their low E, but they often compromise mechanical integrity. In contrast, high-consistency silicone rubbers (HCR), the industry commodity, maintain mechanical integrity even at high filler loadings but are limited in their use in dielectrics due to high E values. This paper explores the potential of vinyl-terminated HCR for developing dielectric composites with high electromechanical response, with an improved epsilon' and a reduced E while retaining mechanical and processability properties. The resulting dielectric HCR formulations exhibit optimal properties for developing flexible capacitive sensors using well-established industrial products and processes.

Automated summary

Flexible capacitive sensors based on silicone rubber are important in both academic and industrial fields due to their advantages, but they require dielectric additives to enhance electrical properties, which also increase Young's modulus. Liquid silicone rubbers are commonly used in academia, but compromise mechanical integrity, while high-consistency silicone rubbers maintain mechanical integrity but have limited use in dielectrics. This paper explores the potential of vinyl-terminated HCR for developing dielectric composites with high electromechanical response while retaining mechanical and processability properties.