Review of the Performance Improvement of Electroactive Shape Memory Polymer Composites

Abstract

As an intelligent shape memory material, shape memory polymer (SMP) can achieve long-term memory of temporary shapes and effective recovery of original shapes by means of external conditions such as heat, light and electricity. Therefore, aerospace, biomedical, electronic equipment and other industries not only widely used this technology but also achieved remarkable results. However, SMP has electrical insulation and thermal insulation, which makes the further improvement of its mechanical strength and shape memory performance encounter bottlenecks. Based on this, researchers have made composite materials (SMPC) by adding fillers to shape memory polymers, which not only improves the original electrical and thermal deficiencies of the material, but also improve strength and shape recovery ability, breaking through the development obstacles. However, the problems of temperature limitation and high temperature performance still exist, and thermally active SMPC still faces difficulties in practical use. Based on the above situation, this paper will actively introduce electroactive SMPC, and through the relevant mechanism of shape memory behavior, combined with the modification of electroactive SMPC in detail, summarize the expected research development and future application of electroactive SMPC.