Electroactive interface-enhanced dielectric elastomer with ultrahigh electroadhesion and multifunctional droplet actuation

Han Yan; Junshi Zhang; Lei Liu; Chang Wei; Chihan Zhang; Kaijun Wang; Jihong Zhu; Zied Moumni; Weihong Zhang; Jian Lu

doi:10.1126/sciadv.aec3342

Electroactive interface-enhanced dielectric elastomer with ultrahigh electroadhesion and multifunctional droplet actuation

Han Yan (Co-first Author)
, Junshi Zhang^* (Co-first Author)
, Lei Liu^*
, Chang Wei
, Chihan Zhang
, Kaijun Wang
, Jihong Zhu^*
, Zied Moumni
, Weihong Zhang^*
, Jian Lu^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Research output: Journal Publications and Reviews › RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal › peer-review

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Abstract

Dielectric elastomers (DEs) with high energy conversion density are highly desirable for flexible actuation and sensing applications. However, current DEs only perform well under electrical actuation, incapable of regulating interfacial interactions between materials and their environment, such as active control of electroadhesion and electrowetting-on-dielectric (EWOD). Herein, we report a method using polar small-molecule additives to enable electroactive interfacial regulation in DEs. For electroadhesion, the electroactive interface–enhanced dielectric elastomer (EIEDE) with a metal mesh electrode attains adhesion strength of 31.75 kilopascals at 14 megavolts per meter, which is 488 times greater than that before modification. For EWOD performance, the EIEDE induces droplet contact angle to decrease sharply from 83.15° to 9.92°, showing the best electric-field response among DEs and enabling functions like droplet transport and shape modulation. The EIEDE simultaneously integrates large-strain deformation with electroactive interfacial regulation, achieving breakthrough performance in superhigh electroadhesion and excellent EWOD performance. © 2026 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Original language	English
Number of pages	397
Journal	Science Advances
Volume	12
Issue number	11
Online published	11 Mar 2026
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aec3342
Publication status	Published - Mar 2026

Funding

this work is supported by the national natural Science Foundation of china [grant nos. t2541051 (J.Zha.), 12572165 (l.l.), and 92271205 (J. Zhu)], the Fundamental andinter disciplinary disciplines Breakthrough Plan of the Ministry of education of china [grant no.JYB2025XdXM207 (W.Z.)], the national Key R&d Program of china [grant no. 2022YFB3402200(J. Zhu)], the Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation [grant nos.2024A1515011914 (J.Zha.) and 2024A1515012627 (l.l.)], the Shenzhen Science and technology Program [grant no. JcJY20210324140014039 (J.Zha.)], and the Fundamental Research Funds for the central Universities [grant no. G2022KY05107 (l.l.)].

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This full text is made available under CC-BY-NC 4.0. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

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title = "Electroactive interface-enhanced dielectric elastomer with ultrahigh electroadhesion and multifunctional droplet actuation",

abstract = "Dielectric elastomers (DEs) with high energy conversion density are highly desirable for flexible actuation and sensing applications. However, current DEs only perform well under electrical actuation, incapable of regulating interfacial interactions between materials and their environment, such as active control of electroadhesion and electrowetting-on-dielectric (EWOD). Herein, we report a method using polar small-molecule additives to enable electroactive interfacial regulation in DEs. For electroadhesion, the electroactive interface–enhanced dielectric elastomer (EIEDE) with a metal mesh electrode attains adhesion strength of 31.75 kilopascals at 14 megavolts per meter, which is 488 times greater than that before modification. For EWOD performance, the EIEDE induces droplet contact angle to decrease sharply from 83.15° to 9.92°, showing the best electric-field response among DEs and enabling functions like droplet transport and shape modulation. The EIEDE simultaneously integrates large-strain deformation with electroactive interfacial regulation, achieving breakthrough performance in superhigh electroadhesion and excellent EWOD performance. {\textcopyright} 2026 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science.",

author = "Han Yan and Junshi Zhang and Lei Liu and Chang Wei and Chihan Zhang and Kaijun Wang and Jihong Zhu and Zied Moumni and Weihong Zhang and Jian Lu",

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T1 - Electroactive interface-enhanced dielectric elastomer with ultrahigh electroadhesion and multifunctional droplet actuation

AU - Yan, Han

AU - Zhang, Junshi

AU - Liu, Lei

AU - Wei, Chang

AU - Zhang, Chihan

AU - Wang, Kaijun

AU - Zhu, Jihong

AU - Moumni, Zied

AU - Zhang, Weihong

AU - Lu, Jian

PY - 2026/3

Y1 - 2026/3

N2 - Dielectric elastomers (DEs) with high energy conversion density are highly desirable for flexible actuation and sensing applications. However, current DEs only perform well under electrical actuation, incapable of regulating interfacial interactions between materials and their environment, such as active control of electroadhesion and electrowetting-on-dielectric (EWOD). Herein, we report a method using polar small-molecule additives to enable electroactive interfacial regulation in DEs. For electroadhesion, the electroactive interface–enhanced dielectric elastomer (EIEDE) with a metal mesh electrode attains adhesion strength of 31.75 kilopascals at 14 megavolts per meter, which is 488 times greater than that before modification. For EWOD performance, the EIEDE induces droplet contact angle to decrease sharply from 83.15° to 9.92°, showing the best electric-field response among DEs and enabling functions like droplet transport and shape modulation. The EIEDE simultaneously integrates large-strain deformation with electroactive interfacial regulation, achieving breakthrough performance in superhigh electroadhesion and excellent EWOD performance. © 2026 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science.

AB - Dielectric elastomers (DEs) with high energy conversion density are highly desirable for flexible actuation and sensing applications. However, current DEs only perform well under electrical actuation, incapable of regulating interfacial interactions between materials and their environment, such as active control of electroadhesion and electrowetting-on-dielectric (EWOD). Herein, we report a method using polar small-molecule additives to enable electroactive interfacial regulation in DEs. For electroadhesion, the electroactive interface–enhanced dielectric elastomer (EIEDE) with a metal mesh electrode attains adhesion strength of 31.75 kilopascals at 14 megavolts per meter, which is 488 times greater than that before modification. For EWOD performance, the EIEDE induces droplet contact angle to decrease sharply from 83.15° to 9.92°, showing the best electric-field response among DEs and enabling functions like droplet transport and shape modulation. The EIEDE simultaneously integrates large-strain deformation with electroactive interfacial regulation, achieving breakthrough performance in superhigh electroadhesion and excellent EWOD performance. © 2026 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science.

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Electroactive interface-enhanced dielectric elastomer with ultrahigh electroadhesion and multifunctional droplet actuation

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