Advancements in Synthetic Pathways for Dielectric Electroactive Polymers and Multifunctional Applications

Dielectric electroactive polymers (DEAPs) are a subclass of switchable smart materials capable of reversibly converting electrical and mechanical energy, enabling their use as energy harvesters, sensors, and actuators. Different polymerisation methods, with emphasis on advanced approaches, are used for the production of polymer particles with different porous designs. This chapter explains the polymerisation techniques, their particle size differences, advantages and applications. Furthermore, this chapter covers the electromechanical characteristics of dielectric films and their use as DEAP actuators. Investigation of the dielectric material of thermoplastic polyurethane includes the study of the dielectric constant, tensile properties, pre-stress effect mechanism on actuation, surface topography and noted mobility at high voltages of 1–10 kV. The dielectric constant of dielectric films recently developed for energy storage can vary from 2.1 for polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) to a high dielectric constant of 40, characteristic of polyacrylonitrile (PAN). This chapter provides a comprehensive recapitulation of the polymerisation fundamentals and related processes to provide theoretical and practical information to researchers while simultaneously considering a wide range of polymerisation processes and applications. In the last decade, DEAPs have gained interest in biomedicine due to their lightweight, biodegradable, and fast response properties. They have received particular attention as drug delivery systems, where polymers or monomers with enhanced structures – due to the incorporation of nanoparticles (NPs), micelles, hydrogels etc., have demonstrated prominent results. Amine-functionalised mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs-NH2)-poly(IA-co-MPC) structured with NPs exhibited a drug loading of 0.213 (w/w) and a maximum release of 59%. Challenges such as robust control, modelling non-linear performances, and extensible production should be researched in depth.