Issue 30, 2024

Sculpting liquid metal stabilized interfaces: a gateway to liquid electronics

Abstract

Liquid electronics have potential applications in soft robotics, printed electronics, and healable electronics. The intrinsic shortcomings of solid-state electronics can be offset by liquid conductors. Alloys of gallium have emerged as transformative materials for liquid electronics owing to their intrinsic fluidity, conductivity, and low toxicity. However, sculpting liquid metal or its composites into a 3D architecture is a challenging task. To tackle this issue, herein, we explored the interfacial chemistry of metal ions and tannic acid (TA) complexation at a liquid–liquid interface. First, we established that an MIII–TA network at the liquid–liquid interface could structure liquid in liquid by jamming the interfacial film. The surface coverage of the droplet largely depends on the concentration of metal ions, oxidation state of metal ions and pH of the surrounding environment. Further extending the approach, we demonstrated that TA-functionalized gallium nanoparticles (Ga NPs) can also sculpt liquid droplets in the presence of transition metal ions. Finally, a mold-based free-standing 3D architecture is obtained using the interfacial reaction and interfacial crowding of a metal–phenolate network. Conductivity measurement reveals that these liquid constructs can be used for low-voltage electronic applications, thus opening the door for liquid electronics.

Graphical abstract: Sculpting liquid metal stabilized interfaces: a gateway to liquid electronics

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
28 এপ্রিল 2024
Accepted
27 জুন 2024
First published
29 জুন 2024

Nanoscale, 2024,16, 14350-14357

Sculpting liquid metal stabilized interfaces: a gateway to liquid electronics

R. Mahapatra, S. Das, A. K. Gill, D. Singh, A. Sangwan, K. Ghosh and D. Patra, Nanoscale, 2024, 16, 14350 DOI: 10.1039/D4NR01836B

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