Magnifying the Breakdown Strength of Multilayer Dielectric Elastomers via Dry Stacking Embedded Liquid Metal Electrodes

ABSTRACT Dielectric elastomers (DEs) are intelligent soft materials widely used in soft robotic actuators. A critical component of dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs) is the flexible electrode, which requires low electrical resistance and minimal stiffness. Liquid metals (LMs) have thus emerged as promising candidates for such electrodes. However, the capacity of multilayer DEAs incorporating LM electrodes is seriously restricted by the electrical breakdown issue. In this article, we introduce a dry stacking fabrication method that significantly magnifies the electrical breakdown strength of multilayer LM‐embedded DEAs. Experiments demonstrated the achievement of a maximum breakdown field strength of 39.84 V µm −1 . The fabricated DEAs via this approach exhibit a rapid dynamic response, with transient static response times below 4 ms, and excellent operational stability when driven at resonance frequency, evidenced by a temperature rise of ∼1.5°C. For practical illustration, the optimized DEA is successfully employed to develop an actuator of a crawling robot, enabling unidirectional movement on an acrylic panel. These results underscore the potential of the proposed dry‐stacked DEAs for advancing high‐performance soft robotic systems.