Electrostrictive polymer composites based on liquid crystalline graphene for mechanical energy harvesting

High electromechanical coupling is critical to perform effective conversion between mechanical and electrical energy for various applications of electrostrictive polymers. Herein, a giant electrostriction effect is reported in liquid crystalline graphene doped dielectric elastomers. The materials are formulated by an original phase transfer method which allows the solubilization of graphenic monolayers in non-polar solvents. Dielectric spectroscopy is combined with tensile test devices to measure the true electrostriction coefficients with differentiating the Maxwell stress effect. Because of their unique liquid crystal structure, the resultant composites show a giant relative permittivity and ultralarge electrostriction coefficient. This work offers a promising pathway to design novel high performance electrostrictive polymer composites as well as to provide insights into mechanisms of true electrostriction in electrically heterogeneous systems.