Mechanochemically Activatable Liquid Metal Powders for Sustainable, Reconfigurable, and Versatile Electronics

Abstract While liquid metals possess exceptional electrical conductivity, their integration into stretchable and recyclable electronics remains constrained. High surface tension causes poor adhesion and uncontrolled spreading, and current processing methods often lack scalability or recyclability, limiting broader adoption in soft robotics, wearable healthcare, and sustainable systems. Here, a class of mechanochemically activatable liquid metal powders (MALMPs) is introduced that decouple conductivity from fluidity, enabling ambient stable, recyclable, and user‐defined soft circuits. Sonication dispersion of eutectic gallium–indium in carbonyl‐rich solvents yields core–shell particles with oxide‐stabilized surfaces. These powders remain electrically inert under ambient conditions but can be locally activated by mechanical pressure, which ruptures the shell to restore conductivity. This mechanism allows dry‐state patterning on a wide range of substrates, including flexible, stretchable, and biological surfaces, followed by localized fluidization upon mechanical activation to induce conductivity. MALMPs maintain stable conductivity under >10 000 stretching cycles and 700% strain and can be fully recycled via mild sodium hydroxide (NaOH) treatment. Demonstrations across transient and reconfigurable circuits, human–machine interfaces, and skin‐conformal systems highlight the versatility and scalability of the platform for next‐generation electronics.

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Publication Details

Journal
Advanced Functional Materials
Published
2025-12-09
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202527396
Primary Topic
Advanced Sensor and Energy Harvesting Materials
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
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article

Mechanochemically Activatable Liquid Metal Powders for Sustainable, Reconfigurable, and Versatile Electronics

Junseong Ahn, Xinge Yu, Osman Gul, Hye Jin Kim et al.
Advanced Functional Materials
Advanced Sensor and Energy Harvesting Materials
article

Mechanochemically Activatable Liquid Metal Powders for Sustainable, Reconfigurable, and Versatile Electronics

Junseong Ahn, Xinge Yu, Osman Gul, Hye Jin Kim, Inkyu Park
article en

Abstract

Abstract While liquid metals possess exceptional electrical conductivity, their integration into stretchable and recyclable electronics remains constrained. High surface tension causes poor adhesion and uncontrolled spreading, and current processing methods often lack scalability or recyclability, limiting broader adoption in soft robotics, wearable healthcare, and sustainable systems. Here, a class of mechanochemically activatable liquid metal powders (MALMPs) is introduced that decouple conductivity from fluidity, enabling ambient stable, recyclable, and user‐defined soft circuits. Sonication dispersion of eutectic gallium–indium in carbonyl‐rich solvents yields core–shell particles with oxide‐stabilized surfaces. These powders remain electrically inert under ambient conditions but can be locally activated by mechanical pressure, which ruptures the shell to restore conductivity. This mechanism allows dry‐state patterning on a wide range of substrates, including flexible, stretchable, and biological surfaces, followed by localized fluidization upon mechanical activation to induce conductivity. MALMPs maintain stable conductivity under >10 000 stretching cycles and 700% strain and can be fully recycled via mild sodium hydroxide (NaOH) treatment. Demonstrations across transient and reconfigurable circuits, human–machine interfaces, and skin‐conformal systems highlight the versatility and scalability of the platform for next‐generation electronics.

Advanced Functional MaterialsVol. 36(22)
Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (KR), Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KR), City University of Hong Kong (HK), Korea University (KR), Korea University of Science and Technology (KR)
Openalex Percentile: Top 61%
Advanced Sensor and Energy Harvesting Materials
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