Recent Progress in Isotropic Magnetorheological Elastomers and Their Properties: A Review

Magnetorheological elastomers (MREs) are magneto-sensitive smart materials, widely used in various applications, i.e., construction, automotive, electrics, electronics, medical, minimally invasive surgery, and robotics. Such a wide field of applications is due to their superior properties, including morphological, dynamic mechanical, magnetorheological, thermal, friction and wear, and complex torsional properties. The objective of this review is to provide a comprehensive review of the recent progress in isotropic MREs, with the main focus on their properties. We first present the background and introduction of the isotropic MREs. Then, the preparation of filler particles, fabrication methods of isotropic MREs, and key parameters of the fabrication process—including types of polymer matrices and filler particles, filler particles size and volume fraction, additives, curing time/temperature, and magnetic field strength—are discussed in a separate section. Additionally, the properties of various isotropic MREs, under specific magnetic field strength and tensile, compressive, or shear loading conditions, are reviewed in detail. The current review concludes with a summary of the properties of isotropic MREs, highlights unexplored research areas in isotropic MREs, and provides an outlook of the future opportunities of this innovative field.