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Superelongation of liquid metal

Superelongation of liquid metal
Superelongation of liquid metal

The ability to control interfacial tension electrochemically is uniquely available for liquid metals (LMs), in particular gallium-based LM alloys. This imparts them with excellent locomotion and deformation capabilities and enables diverse applications. However, electrochemical oxidation of LM is a highly dynamic process, which often induces Marangoni instabilities that make it almost impossible to elongate LM and manipulate its morphology directly and precisely on a 2D plane without the assistance of other patterning methods. To overcome these limitations, this study investigates the use of an LM–iron (Fe) particle mixture that is capable of suppressing instabilities during the electrochemical oxidation process, thereby allowing for superelongation of the LM core of the mixture to form a thin wire that is tens of times of its original length. More importantly, the elongated LM core can be manipulated freely on a 2D plane to form complex patterns. Eliminating Marangoni instabilities also allows for the effective spreading and filling of the LM–Fe mixture into molds with complex structures and small features. Harnessing these excellent abilities, a channel-less patterning method for fabricating elastomeric wearable sensors is demonstrated to detect motions. This study shows the potential for developing functional and flexible structures of LM with superior performance.

elongation, Galinstan, liquid metal, Marangoni instabilities, wearable sensors
2198-3844
Li, Xiangpeng
73f32905-ad7c-4ce3-93a4-78237b98f4fb
Cao, Lu
4e206ea2-f56a-4da7-8ce4-e1131157c93d
Xiao, Bing
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Li, Fangxia
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Yang, Junhui
bcd81344-dafd-4f58-b43d-44cabd3d5694
Hu, Jie
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Cole, Tim
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Zhang, Yuxin
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Zhang, Mingkui
18ef5e1f-1df2-4d49-9a16-902e7d5e009d
Zheng, Jiahao
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Zhang, Shiwu
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Li, Weihua
e2555036-0e48-425a-afeb-db6ffba5238e
Sun, Lining
e4660e06-1315-4059-985f-2cb1e50c5fc8
Chen, Xiaoqian
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Tang, Shi Yang
1d0f15c6-2a3e-4bad-a3d8-fc267db93ed4
Li, Xiangpeng
73f32905-ad7c-4ce3-93a4-78237b98f4fb
Cao, Lu
4e206ea2-f56a-4da7-8ce4-e1131157c93d
Xiao, Bing
a2cdd566-e750-479e-9a59-b9fc8e489809
Li, Fangxia
a3d24e25-2342-4b61-92f7-6afc1ae815ce
Yang, Junhui
bcd81344-dafd-4f58-b43d-44cabd3d5694
Hu, Jie
84967196-e5da-49dc-8a0d-4e2507a5fcde
Cole, Tim
78cebdf5-e360-4e8e-9dea-ba4b88306980
Zhang, Yuxin
f858a4e3-2841-46cb-a6d7-a5230e25f467
Zhang, Mingkui
18ef5e1f-1df2-4d49-9a16-902e7d5e009d
Zheng, Jiahao
44791733-cef3-4cca-9e18-1779b64e3b84
Zhang, Shiwu
da008f91-71fa-42fb-879e-68b91429e1d6
Li, Weihua
e2555036-0e48-425a-afeb-db6ffba5238e
Sun, Lining
e4660e06-1315-4059-985f-2cb1e50c5fc8
Chen, Xiaoqian
2458bab0-5d9e-4c91-817e-87845b4a291d
Tang, Shi Yang
1d0f15c6-2a3e-4bad-a3d8-fc267db93ed4

Li, Xiangpeng, Cao, Lu, Xiao, Bing, Li, Fangxia, Yang, Junhui, Hu, Jie, Cole, Tim, Zhang, Yuxin, Zhang, Mingkui, Zheng, Jiahao, Zhang, Shiwu, Li, Weihua, Sun, Lining, Chen, Xiaoqian and Tang, Shi Yang (2022) Superelongation of liquid metal. Advanced Science, 9 (11), [2105289]. (doi:10.1002/advs.202105289).

Record type: Article

Abstract

The ability to control interfacial tension electrochemically is uniquely available for liquid metals (LMs), in particular gallium-based LM alloys. This imparts them with excellent locomotion and deformation capabilities and enables diverse applications. However, electrochemical oxidation of LM is a highly dynamic process, which often induces Marangoni instabilities that make it almost impossible to elongate LM and manipulate its morphology directly and precisely on a 2D plane without the assistance of other patterning methods. To overcome these limitations, this study investigates the use of an LM–iron (Fe) particle mixture that is capable of suppressing instabilities during the electrochemical oxidation process, thereby allowing for superelongation of the LM core of the mixture to form a thin wire that is tens of times of its original length. More importantly, the elongated LM core can be manipulated freely on a 2D plane to form complex patterns. Eliminating Marangoni instabilities also allows for the effective spreading and filling of the LM–Fe mixture into molds with complex structures and small features. Harnessing these excellent abilities, a channel-less patterning method for fabricating elastomeric wearable sensors is demonstrated to detect motions. This study shows the potential for developing functional and flexible structures of LM with superior performance.

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Advanced Science - 2022 - Li - Version of Record
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e-pub ahead of print date: 7 February 2022
Published date: 14 April 2022
Additional Information: Funding Information: X.L., B.X., and L.C. contributed equally to this work. This work was supported in part by grants from National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) under Grant Nos. 61873339, 61503270, 51828503, and 61903315; and a grant from Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province under the Grant No. BK20190096. S.-Y.T. is grateful for the support from the Royal Society (IEC/NSFC/201223). The authors appreciate the support from Suzhou JODELL Robotics Co. LTD for sponsoring the robotic arm for testing. Funding Information: X.L., B.X., and L.C. contributed equally to this work. This work was supported in part by grants from National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) under Grant Nos. 61873339, 61503270, 51828503, and 61903315; and a grant from Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province under the Grant No. BK20190096. S.‐Y.T. is grateful for the support from the Royal Society (IEC/NSFC/201223). The authors appreciate the support from Suzhou JODELL Robotics Co. LTD for sponsoring the robotic arm for testing. Publisher Copyright: © 2022 The Authors. Advanced Science published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.
Keywords: elongation, Galinstan, liquid metal, Marangoni instabilities, wearable sensors

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 481993
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/481993
ISSN: 2198-3844
PURE UUID: eaae66c2-2aca-4dd9-9b15-215da63ea8cd
ORCID for Shi Yang Tang: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-3079-8880

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Date deposited: 14 Sep 2023 16:53
Last modified: 06 Jun 2024 02:18

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Contributors

Author: Xiangpeng Li
Author: Lu Cao
Author: Bing Xiao
Author: Fangxia Li
Author: Junhui Yang
Author: Jie Hu
Author: Tim Cole
Author: Yuxin Zhang
Author: Mingkui Zhang
Author: Jiahao Zheng
Author: Shiwu Zhang
Author: Weihua Li
Author: Lining Sun
Author: Xiaoqian Chen
Author: Shi Yang Tang ORCID iD

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