Shape-Programmable Liquid Metal Fibers
Conductive and stretchable fibers are the cornerstone of intelligent textiles and imperceptible electronics. Among existing fiber conductors, gallium-based liquid metals (LMs) featuring high conductivity, fluidity, and self-healing are excellent candidates for highly stretchable fibers with sensing,...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-12-01
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| Series: | Biosensors |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6374/13/1/28 |
| _version_ | 1797445424479469568 |
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| author | Biao Ma Jin Zhang Gangsheng Chen Yi Chen Chengtao Xu Lanjie Lei Hong Liu |
| author_facet | Biao Ma Jin Zhang Gangsheng Chen Yi Chen Chengtao Xu Lanjie Lei Hong Liu |
| author_sort | Biao Ma |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Conductive and stretchable fibers are the cornerstone of intelligent textiles and imperceptible electronics. Among existing fiber conductors, gallium-based liquid metals (LMs) featuring high conductivity, fluidity, and self-healing are excellent candidates for highly stretchable fibers with sensing, actuation, power generation, and interconnection functionalities. However, current LM fibers fabricated by direct injection or surface coating have a limitation in shape programmability. This hinders their applications in functional fibers with tunable electromechanical response and miniaturization. Here, we reported a simple and efficient method to create shape-programmable LM fibers using the phase transition of gallium. Gallium metal wires in the solid state can be easily shaped into a 3D helical structure, and the structure can be preserved after coating the wire with polyurethane and liquifying the metal. The 3D helical LM fiber offered enhanced stretchability with a high breaking strain of 1273% and showed invariable conductance over 283% strain. Moreover, we can reduce the fiber diameter by stretching the fiber during the solidification of polyurethane. We also demonstrated applications of the programmed fibers in self-powered strain sensing, heart rate monitoring, airflow, and humidity sensing. This work provided simple and facile ways toward functional LM fibers, which may facilitate the broad applications of LM fibers in e-skins, wearable computation, soft robots, and smart fabrics. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T13:25:38Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c5711fc9bf4f48f4baa3fa953816f90b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2079-6374 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T13:25:38Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Biosensors |
| spelling | doaj.art-c5711fc9bf4f48f4baa3fa953816f90b2023-11-30T21:24:28ZengMDPI AGBiosensors2079-63742022-12-011312810.3390/bios13010028Shape-Programmable Liquid Metal FibersBiao Ma0Jin Zhang1Gangsheng Chen2Yi Chen3Chengtao Xu4Lanjie Lei5Hong Liu6State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, ChinaConductive and stretchable fibers are the cornerstone of intelligent textiles and imperceptible electronics. Among existing fiber conductors, gallium-based liquid metals (LMs) featuring high conductivity, fluidity, and self-healing are excellent candidates for highly stretchable fibers with sensing, actuation, power generation, and interconnection functionalities. However, current LM fibers fabricated by direct injection or surface coating have a limitation in shape programmability. This hinders their applications in functional fibers with tunable electromechanical response and miniaturization. Here, we reported a simple and efficient method to create shape-programmable LM fibers using the phase transition of gallium. Gallium metal wires in the solid state can be easily shaped into a 3D helical structure, and the structure can be preserved after coating the wire with polyurethane and liquifying the metal. The 3D helical LM fiber offered enhanced stretchability with a high breaking strain of 1273% and showed invariable conductance over 283% strain. Moreover, we can reduce the fiber diameter by stretching the fiber during the solidification of polyurethane. We also demonstrated applications of the programmed fibers in self-powered strain sensing, heart rate monitoring, airflow, and humidity sensing. This work provided simple and facile ways toward functional LM fibers, which may facilitate the broad applications of LM fibers in e-skins, wearable computation, soft robots, and smart fabrics.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6374/13/1/28liquid metalconductive fiberstretchable electrodesflexible electronicswearable sensors |
| spellingShingle | Biao Ma Jin Zhang Gangsheng Chen Yi Chen Chengtao Xu Lanjie Lei Hong Liu Shape-Programmable Liquid Metal Fibers Biosensors liquid metal conductive fiber stretchable electrodes flexible electronics wearable sensors |
| title | Shape-Programmable Liquid Metal Fibers |
| title_full | Shape-Programmable Liquid Metal Fibers |
| title_fullStr | Shape-Programmable Liquid Metal Fibers |
| title_full_unstemmed | Shape-Programmable Liquid Metal Fibers |
| title_short | Shape-Programmable Liquid Metal Fibers |
| title_sort | shape programmable liquid metal fibers |
| topic | liquid metal conductive fiber stretchable electrodes flexible electronics wearable sensors |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6374/13/1/28 |
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