Compression‐Durable Soft Electronic Circuits Enabled by Embedding Self‐Healing Biphasic Liquid‐Solid Metal Into Microstructured Elastomeric Channels
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.
Article Details
Authors (14)
Xiaoliang Chen
State Key Laboratory of Synergistic Chem-Bio Synthesis, State Key Laboratory of Micro-Nano Engineering Science, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, New Cornerstone Science Laboratory, Frontiers Science Center for Transformative Molecules, Zhang Jiang Institute for Advanced Study and National Center for Translational Medicine
Bing Wang
Jiankang Duan
State Key Laboratory for Manufacturing Systems Engineering Xi'an Jiaotong University Xi'an Shaanxi 710049 China
Bo Yang
Liang Wang
Sheng Li
Yizhuo Luo
Sihai Luo
Frontier Institute of Science and Technology (FIST) Xi'an Jiaotong University Xi'an Shaanxi 710049 China
Bai Sun
Frontier Institute of Science and Technology Interdisciplinary Research Center of Frontier science and technology State Key Laboratory for Strength and Vibration of Mechanical Structures Engineering Research Center of Key Materials for Efficient Utilization of Clean Energy of Shaanxi Province Xi'an Key Laboratory of Electronic Devices and Material Chemistry Institute of New Concept Sensors and Molecular Materials Shaanxi Key Laboratory of New Conceptual Sensors and Molecular Materials Xi'an...
Chunhui Wang
Micro-and Nano-Technology Research Center, State Key Laboratory for Manufacturing Systems Engineering, School of Mechanical Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University
Hongmiao Tian
Micro-and Nano-Technology Research Center, State Key Laboratory for Manufacturing Systems Engineering, School of Mechanical Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University
Xiangming Li
Micro-and Nano-Technology Research Center, State Key Laboratory for Manufacturing Systems Engineering, School of Mechanical Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University
Jian Lv
Jinyou Shao
Micro-and Nano-Technology Research Center, State Key Laboratory for Manufacturing Systems Engineering, School of Mechanical Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University