Enhancing the dielectric permittivity of elastomers

The electromechanical transduction properties of any dielectric elastomer are intrinsically regulated by the dielectric permittivity of the material. This parameter proportionally controls both the achievable active stresses and strains. Accordingly, a suitable increase of the material permittivity may provide a valuable means to improve the performance of a dielectric elastomer actuator. This chapter provides a brief overview of the most used methods, mainly based on purely physical approaches, currently available for increasing the dielectric permittivity of rubber-like insulators.