1. No category

Energy harvesting by dielectric
elastomer generators
Project Number:
IZERZO_142215/1; 10/RO-CH/RSRP/01.01.2013
Partners:
EMPA- Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology,
Laboratory for Functional Polymers, Dübendorf, Switzerland
ICMPP- ”Petru Poni” Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry, Iasi, Romania
PROJECT CO-FINANCED BY A GRANT FROM SWITZERLAND THROUGH THE
SWISS CONTRIBUTION TO THE ENLARGED EUROPEAN UNION
www.snf.ch
www.uefiscdi.gov.ro
Summary
The search for new reliable green sources of energy increased significantly
in the last years. Nature offers a number of sources of “unlimited” energy, ocean
wave’s energy being one of them. Dielectric elastomer generators are a relatively
new technology that can convert mechanical energy (e.g. wave energy) into more
useful electrical energy. It is the aim of this project to develop new materials for
Dielectric elastomer generators. New silicone based elastomeric materials with
increased permittivity, low dielectric losses, low conductivity, and good mechanical
properties will be prepared. In order to increase permittivity, polar groups will be
attached to the silicone chains. Copolymers containing different amounts of
dipoles at random position on the chain as well as copolymers where the position
of the dipole is precisely controlled will be made. The newly prepared materials
will be investigated regarding their mechanical and electrical properties as well as
regarding their feasibility to convert mechanical energy into electrical energy. At
the end of the project, not only should a good material for dielectric elastomer
generators be achieved but also the understanding on structure property
relationship would be greatly improved.
www.snf.ch
www.uefiscdi.gov.ro
Keywords: permittivity, polar silicones synthesis, elastomers, actuators,
dielectric elastomer generators
Start/End: 01.01.2013 - 31.12.2015
Principal investigators: Dr. Dorina Maria Opris –EMPA
Dr. Carmen Racles -ICMPP
www.snf.ch
www.uefiscdi.gov.ro
Approved budget
SNSF
contribution
www.snf.ch
UEFISCDI
contribution
CH team
RO team
RO team
Total
178516
141310
56440
376266
www.uefiscdi.gov.ro
Publications:
1) „Synthesis and characterization of silicones containing cyanopropyl groups and
their use in dielectric elastomer actuators”, Carmen Racles, Maria Cazacu,
Beatrice Fischer, Dorina M Opris, Smart Mater. Struct,. 22 (2013) 104004,
2) „Chemical modification of polysiloxanes with polar pendant groups by co
hydrosilylation”, Carmen Racles, Mihaela Alexandru, Adrian Bele, Valentina
Musteata, Maria Cazacu, Dorina M. Opris, RSC Advances, 2014, 4(71), 37620 –
37628,
3) „Tailoring the dielectric properties of silicones by chemical modification”, Carmen
Racles, Mihaela Alexandru, Adrian Bele, Valentina Musteata, Maria Cazacu,
Dorina Opris, in: "Research Developments in Polymer Science" Volume 12(2014),
Editor: S.G. Pandalai; ISBN: 978-81-7895-611-4, Research Signpost, Transworld
Research Network, in press.
www.snf.ch
www.uefiscdi.gov.ro
Communications and posters:
1. Dorina M. Opris, Sascha Grimm, Frank Nüesch, Martin Molberg, Gabor Kovacs,
Carmen Racles, Maria Cazacu, Jose Quinsaat, Heinrich Hofmann, "Self-reparable
Dielectric Elastomer Actuators"; Makromolekulares Kolloquium Freiburg, February
23 - 25, 2012, Freiburg, Germany. (oral)
2. D. M. Opris, S- Dünki, F. Nüesch, J. E. Q. Quinsaat, Y. Song Ko, S. Michel, C.
Racles, M. Cazacu, "Dielectric elastomers put to work", SCS Fall Meeting 2013,
September 6, 2013, Lausanne, Switzerland. (oral)
3. Dorina M. Opris, Jose Enrico Q. Quinsaat, Frank Nüesch, Heinrich Hofmann,
Carmen
Racles,
Maria
Cazacu,
"Dielectric
elastomer
actuators",
Makromolekulares Kolloquium Freiburg, 24-26 February, 2013, Freiburg,
Germany. (poster)
4. Carmen Racles, Maria Cazacu, Dorina Opris- Silicone elastomers for
actuationEuroEAP 2011: First international conference on Electromechanically
Active Polymer (EAP) transducers & artificial muscles, Pisa, 8-9 June 2011.
(poster)
www.snf.ch
www.uefiscdi.gov.ro
5. Carmen Racles, Maria Cazacu, Beatrice Fischer, Dorina M Opris -Synthesis and
characterization of silicones containing cyanopropyl groups and their use in
dielectric elastomer actuators; EuroEAP 2013: International conference on
Electromechanically Active Polymer (EAP) transducers & artificial muscles,
Dübendorf, 25-26 June 2013. (poster)
6. Carmen Racles, Maria Cazacu, Mihaela Alexandru, Adrian Bele, Valentina
Musteata, Daniela Ionita, Stelian Vlad, Cristian Varganici, Florica Doroftei:
Polimeri siliconici cu grupe polare pentru actuaţie, Zile Academice Iesene, 2-5 oct.
2013, Iasi. (poster)
7. Carmen Racles, Mihaela Alexandru, Valentina Musteata, Adrian Bele, Maria
Cazacu: Tailoring the dielectric properties of silicones by chemical modification,
The 13th International Balkan Workshop on Applied Physics, Constanta, 4-6 July
2013. (poster)
8. Carmen Racles, Mihaela Alexandru, Adrian Bele, Valentina Musteata, Maria
Cazacu, Simon Dunki, Dorina M. Opris: New insights into tailoring dielectric
properties of silicones by chemical modification –poster at EuroEAP 2014,
Linköping, Sweden, 10-11 June 2014. (poster)
www.snf.ch
www.uefiscdi.gov.ro
9. Adrian Bele, Maria Cazacu, Mihaela Alexandru, Valentina Musteata, Dorina M.
Opris, Carmen Racles: A dual strategy for improving the electromechanical
properties of silicones, poster at EuroEAP 2014, Linköping, Sweden, 10-11 June
2014. (poster)
10. Carmen Racles, Maria Cazacu, Mihaela Alexandru, Adrian Bele, Valentina
Musteata and Florica Doroftei: Composites from incompatible polymer pairs:
silicone elastomers as disperse phase or matrix, ICCE-22, Malta, July 13-19,
2014. (oral)
11. Valentina E. Musteata, Carmen Racles, Maria Cazacu, Mihaela Alexandru, Adrian
Bele, Dorina M. Opris: Polysiloxanes for dielectric actuators and their molecular
dynamics, 8th International Symposium “Molecular Order and Mobility in Polymer
Systems”, St. Petersburg, June 2-6, 2014. (poster)
12. Simon Dünki, Mihaela Alexandru, Adrian Bele, Maria Cazacu, Frank Nüesch,
Dorina Opris, Carmen Racles: Influence of Polar Groups on the Dielectric
Constant of Silicones, Macromolecular Colloquium, 26-28.02.2014, Freiburg,
Germany. (poster)
www.snf.ch
www.uefiscdi.gov.ro
13. Carmen Racles, Mihaela Alexandru, Maria Cazacu, Adrian Bele, Simon Dünki,
Dorina M. Opris: Polysiloxanes with γ-cyanopropyl groups: considerations on(co)hydrosilylation reactions and applications for dielectric elastomer transducers,
PolyColl 2014 Annual Meeting of the Division of Polymers, Colloids and
Interfaces, 20 June 2014, Dubendorf, Switzerland. (poster)
www.snf.ch
www.uefiscdi.gov.ro
Useful links:
http://www.swiss-contribution.admin.ch/romania/
http://p3.snf.ch/Project-142215
PROJECT CO-FINANCED BY A GRANT FROM SWITZERLAND THROUGH THE
SWISS CONTRIBUTION TO THE ENLARGED EUROPEAN UNION
www.snf.ch
www.uefiscdi.gov.ro