journal article·2025-05Open access

Compression‐Durable Soft Electronic Circuits Enabled by Embedding Self‐Healing Biphasic Liquid‐Solid Metal Into Microstructured Elastomeric Channels

Xiaoliang Chen, Bing Wang, Jiankang Duan, Bo Yang, Liang Wang, Sheng Li, Yizhuo Luo, Sihai Luo, Bai Sun, Chunhui Wang, Hongmiao Tian, Xiangming Li, Jian Lv, Jinyou Shao

Advanced Materials· Volume 37· Issue 21

Abstract

Abstract Compression strongly degrades the electrical conductivity of the liquid‐metal‐based circuits because the liquid state is prone to be squashed. Here, a new compressible and stretchable biphasic liquid‐solid self‐healing circuit is proposed by filling GalnSn‐BilnSn biphasic metal into micropillar‐embedded channels. The underlying BilnSn solid alloy layer serves as a compression resistance layer, while the upper GalnSn liquid metal layer enables the real‐time filling of the cracks in the solid layer under large deformations, resulting in autonomous self‐healing and maintenance of conductivity under both stretching and compression. The embedded micropillars further improved the compression durability by providing additional mechanical support. The synergistic effect between the biphasic materials and embedded micropillar enables the designed stretchable conductor to show stable performance (R/R 0 <10) under pressure of 38.2 MPa (≈389.5 Kgf cm −2 ) and cyclic pressure of 15.8 MPa over 7000 cycles (R/R 0 <0.48%) without compromising the stretchability, whereas the liquid metal‐based conductor can only endure pressure up to 2.5 MPa (25.49 Kgf cm −2 ). The stretchable antenna and hybrid circuits fabricated using the designed biphasic metal conductor showed enhanced compression durability. The structure‐confined filling strategy enabled high‐resolution and scalable manufacturing. Overall, robust stability under compression significantly expands the range of possible applications of liquid‐metal‐based conductors in soft electronics.
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Research context

OpenAlex topics: Advanced Sensor and Energy Harvesting Materials · Advanced Materials and Mechanics · Electrospun Nanofibers in Biomedical Applications

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

Affiliations

Frontier Institute of Science and Technology (FIST) Xi'an Jiaotong University Xi'an Shaanxi 710049 China

State Key Laboratory for Manufacturing Systems Engineering Xi'an Jiaotong University Xi'an Shaanxi 710049 China

Interdisciplinary Research Center of Frontier Science and Technology Xi'an Jiaotong University Xi'an Shaanxi 710049 China

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China · Aeronautical Science Foundation of China · National Key Research and Development Program of China · Key Research and Development Projects of Shaanxi Province

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