Abstract: The structure and morphology of the dielectric elastomer VHB4910 under different pre-stretching conditions were characterized by means of IR and SEM,and the types and amounts of the elements in the conductive paste of flexible electrodes were analyzed by using an energy dispersive spectrometer.Then,by using VHB4910 and flexible electrodes,an electroactive actuator was prepared under the optimized conditions,and its strain response characteristics were tested.Moreover,the electroactive actuator with 0. 3% silver in flexible electrodes was compared with that with the flexible electrode free of silver by an experiment.The results show that,after the isometric pre-stretching,VHB4910 has a more uniform surface with a better strain,and that,at the voltage of 5 kV,the electroactive actuator with the flexible electrode free of silver has a larger deformation of up to 149. 8%,which may be related to“the quantum tunnel effect”

Key words: intelligent materials, electroactive actuator, dielectric elastomer, flexible electrode, strain response