In principle EAP technology could potentially replace common motion-generating mechanisms in positioning, valve control, pump and sensor applications, where designers are seeking quieter, power efficient devices to replace conventional electrical motors and drive trains. Their use as artificial muscles is of special interest due to their similar properties in terms of stress and strain, energy and power densities or efficiency. A broad application of dielectric elastomer actuators (DEA) is

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... ed by the high voltage necessary to drive such devices. The development of novel elastomers offering better intrinsic electromechanical properties is one way to solve the problem. We prepared composites from cross-linked silicone elastomers or thermoplastic elastomers (TPE) by blending them with organic fillers exhibiting a high dielectric constant. Well characterized monomeric phthalocyanines and modified doped polyaniline (PANI) were used as filler materials. In addition, blends of TPE and an inorganic filler material PZT were characterized as well. We studied the influence of the filler materials onto the mechanical and electromechanical properties of the resulting mixtures. A hundredfold increase of the dielectric constant was already observed for blends of an olefin based thermoplastic elastomer and PANI.