Herein, we report a strategy for tuning the mechanical properties of multilayered structures fabricated from electroadhesive ionomers capable of reversible bonding using the Johnsen-Rahbek effect, a special case of Coulombic attraction. The JR-effect produces an electrostatic attractive force orders of magnitude greater than the classic Coulomb force alone due to the much shorter distance over which the JR-force manifests. Utilizing this effect offers an opportunity for strong adhesion between layers of a laminate structure. By exploiting this force, the change in flexural modulus between unbonded and fully bonded states of a multilayer laminate structure should theoretically increase with the number of layers squared (n2). In this work, we report on the use of semiconducting ionomers for electroadhesive bonding in layered structures whose flexural modulus may be tuned through application of an electric potential. A series of ionomers derived from poly(ethylene-co-acrylic acid) and quaternary ammonium base NR4OH (R = -CH3, -CH2CH3, -CH2CH2CH3) as well as potassium (KOH) were prepared. The thermal, mechanical, and dielectric properties of these ionomers were investigated. The change in flexural modulus of metal-polymer laminate structures under an applied electric field was found to depend on the identity of the counterion. The electroadhesive force as a function of applied potential was also studied and found to vary with counterion identity.

Tuning the mechanical properties of multilayered structures using electroadhesive ionomers

252nd National Meeting (2016)

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