

FOLLOWUS
a.State Key Laboratory of Chemical Resource Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China
b.Key Laboratory of Rubber-Plastics of Ministry of Education, Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Rubber-plastics, Qingdao University of Science & Technology, Qingdao 266042, China
xiaolisun@mail.buct.edu.cn
Received:04 July 2026,
Accepted:28 August 2026,
Online First:29 October 2026,
Published:2026-07
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Zhang, W. X.; Ni, S. Z.; Wei, S. C.; Sun, X. L.; Yan, S. K. The effect of crosslinker ratio on the performance of piezoelectric elastomers. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10118-026-3760-0
Wen-Xian Zhang, Shun-Zhang Ni, Shi-Cheng Wei, et al. The Effect of Crosslinker Ratio on the Performance of Piezoelectric Elastomers[J/OL]. Chinese Journal of Polymer Science, 2026, 441-11.
Zhang, W. X.; Ni, S. Z.; Wei, S. C.; Sun, X. L.; Yan, S. K. The effect of crosslinker ratio on the performance of piezoelectric elastomers. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10118-026-3760-0 DOI:
Wen-Xian Zhang, Shun-Zhang Ni, Shi-Cheng Wei, et al. The Effect of Crosslinker Ratio on the Performance of Piezoelectric Elastomers[J/OL]. Chinese Journal of Polymer Science, 2026, 441-11. DOI: 10.1007/s10118-026-3760-0.
Piezoelectric elastic composites based on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) elastomer filled with polar phase poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) microspheres are fabricated. The regulatory role of the elastic polymer matrix structure on the performance of the composite
which is less concerned in previous studies
is explored. Here
we have elucidated that precise control of the PDMS crosslinked network governs the stress transfer mechanism
enabling rational design of high-performance piezoelectric composites. By tuning the crosslinker ratio
we achieve PDMS crosslinking densities ranging from 9.9×10
–6
mol·cm
–3
to 91.3×10
–6
mol·cm
–3
enhancing the output voltage of the piezoelectric composite with 10 wt% PVDF microsphere content from 5.3 V to 19.8 V. Finite element simulation attributes this enhancement to more efficient stress transfer within the elastomer matrix with higher crosslinking density
strength
ening the dipole polarization response of polar PVDF microspheres. By increasing PVDF microsphere content to 30 wt%
the composite exhibits a piezoelectric coefficient (
d
33
) of 74 pC·N
–1
and a sensitivity of 647 mV·N
–1
which are 37 and 20 times higher than unoptimized composites in this work
respectively. This work advances understanding of mechanoelectrical coupling in flexible piezocomposites and provides a platform for designing next-generation sensors for intelligent robotics and non-contact acoustic sensing.
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