journal article·2021-09-23Open access

Fully solution processed liquid metal features as highly conductive and ultrastretchable conductors

Hangyu Zhu, Shaolei Wang, Menghu Zhang, Tingyu Li, Gaohua Hu, Desheng Kong

npj Flexible Electronics· Volume 5· Issue 1

Abstract

Abstract Liquid metal represents a highly conductive and inherently deformable conductor for the development of stretchable electronics. The widespread implementations of liquid metal towards functional sensors and circuits are currently hindered by the lack of a facile and scalable patterning approach. In this study, we report a fully solution-based process to generate patterned features of the liquid metal conductor. The entire process is carried out under ambient conditions and is generally compatible with various elastomeric substrates. The as-prepared liquid metal feature exhibits high resolution (100 μm), excellent electrical conductivity (4.15 × 104S cm−1), ultrahigh stretchability (1000% tensile strain), and mechanical durability. The practical suitability is demonstrated by the heterogeneous integration of light-emitting diode (LED) chips with liquid metal interconnects for a stretchable and wearable LED array. The solution-based technique reported here is the enabler for the facile patterning of liquid metal features at low cost, which may find a broad range of applications in emerging fields of epidermal sensors, wearable heaters, advanced prosthetics, and soft robotics.
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Research context

OpenAlex topics: Advanced Sensor and Energy Harvesting Materials · Tactile and Sensory Interactions · Nanomaterials and Printing Technologies

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