A Versatile Approach for Direct Patterning of Liquid Metal Using Magnetic Field

作者：Biao Ma, Chengtao Xu, Junjie Chi, Jian Chen, Chao Zhao, Hong Liu · 发表于：Advanced Functional Materials · 年份：2019 · DOI：10.1002/adfm.201901370 · 被引用次数：205 · 研究领域：Advanced Sensor and Energy Harvesting Materials、Surface Modification and Superhydrophobicity、Nanomaterials and Printing Technologies

Abstract 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.