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A Versatile Approach for Direct Patterning of Liquid Metal Using Magnetic Field
Author(s) -
Ma Biao,
Xu Chengtao,
Chi Junjie,
Chen Jian,
Zhao Chao,
Liu Hong
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
advanced functional materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.069
H-Index - 322
eISSN - 1616-3028
pISSN - 1616-301X
DOI - 10.1002/adfm.201901370
Subject(s) - materials science , nanotechnology , magnetic field , substrate (aquarium) , surface tension , planar , electronics , computer science , electrical engineering , physics , engineering , quantum mechanics , oceanography , computer graphics (images) , geology
Patterning of liquid metal (LM) is usually an integral step toward its practical applications. However, the high surface tension along with surface oxide makes direct patterning of LM very challenging. Existing LM patterning techniques are designed for limited types of planar substrates, which require multiple‐step operation, delicate molds and masks, and expensive equipment. In this work, a simple, versatile, and equipment‐free approach for direct patterning of LM on various substrates using magnetic field is reported. To achieve this, magnetic microparticles are dispersed into LM by stirring. When a moving magnetic field is applied to the LM droplet, the aggregated magnetic microparticles deform the droplet to a continuous line. In addition, this approach is also applicable to supermetallophobic substrates since the applied magnetic field significantly enhances the contact between LM and substrate. Moreover, remote manipulation of the magnetic microparticles allows direct patterning of LM on nonplanar surfaces, even in a narrow and near closed space, which is impossible for the existing techniques. A few applications are also demonstrated using the proposed technique for flexible electronics and wearable sensors.