Chathuranga Prageeth Rajapaksha

Papers

Total Citations

178

H-Index

About

Chathuranga Prageeth Rajapaksha is a materials scientist and polymer researcher whose work centers on electroactive soft materials, ionic elastomers, and flexible electronics. His research has made significant contributions to the development of novel smart materials capable of responding to low-voltage electrical stimuli, with direct implications for soft robotics, wearable sensors, and bioelectronics. Rajapaksha's most influential work introduced ionic liquid crystal elastomers (iLCEs) — a pioneering class of active materials that achieve mechanical bending actuation at voltages below 1 V, a landmark advance in energy-efficient actuator design. This 2019 paper has accumulated 76 citations, reflecting its considerable impact on the field. His subsequent 2021 review on ionic elastomers for electric actuators and sensors (74 citations) has become a widely referenced resource, consolidating understanding of stretchable ionic materials in applications ranging from batteries to soft robotics. Further extending this platform, he demonstrated low-voltage bending in PEGDA-based ionic elastomers and, more recently, integrated iLCEs into organic electrochemical transistors to create highly sensitive bending sensors. Collectively, Rajapaksha's body of work bridges fundamental polymer chemistry and practical device engineering, establishing him as a notable contributor to next-generation electroactive materials and flexible electronic systems.