Magnetorheological elastomers: Fabrication, characteristics, and applications

Magnetorheological (MR) elastomers become one of the most powerful smart and advanced materials that can be tuned reversibly, finely, and quickly in terms of their mechanical and viscoelastic properties by an input magnetic field. They are composite materials in which magnetizable particles are dispersed in solid base elastomers. Their distinctive behaviors are relying on the type and size of dispersed magnetic particles, the type of elastomer matrix, and the type of non-magnetic fillers such as plasticizer, carbon black, and crosslink agent. With these controllable characteristics, they can be applied to various applications such as vibration absorber, isolator, magnetoresistor, and electromagnetic wave absorption. This review provides a summary of the fabrication, properties, and applications of MR elastomers made of various elastomeric materials.