Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 15, 2026
12:04
Microfluidic Preparation of Liquid Crystalline Elastomer Actuators
Published on: May 20, 2018
9.3K
Low-Temperature Triggered Shape Transformation of Liquid Metal Microdroplets
Xuyang Sun1, Rui Guo2, Bo Yuan2
1Beijing Key Laboratory of Cryo-Biomedical Engineering and CAS Key Laboratory of Cryogenics, Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, P. R. China.
ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
|August 28, 2020
Summary
Liquid metal microdroplets undergo rapid, large-scale shape transformations due to low-temperature-induced phase transitions. This process also makes them conductive, opening new possibilities for smart materials.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Soft Robotics
- Flexible Electronics
Background:
- Shape transformable materials are crucial for soft robotics, flexible electronics, and tissue engineering.
- Liquid metals offer unique morphological changes in response to various stimuli.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the superfast, large-scaled transformation of liquid metal microdroplets (LMMs) in a dual fluid system.
- To explore the underlying mechanisms of shape morphing and conductivity changes.
Main Methods:
- Subjecting LMMs in an aqueous solution to low-temperature stimulus.
- Analyzing shape changes and phase transitions using thermal stress.
- Investigating the role of ice crystal formation and densification.
- Measuring impedance changes to assess conductivity.
Main Results:
- Achieved superfast (milliseconds) and large-scaled (13.8% deformation) transformation of LMMs.
- Identified liquid-solid phase transition and ice crystal densification as key drivers.
- Observed a significant increase in conductivity (impedance change of ~10^5 times).
Conclusions:
- Low-temperature stimulus induces rapid, large-scale shape transformation in LMMs via phase transition.
- The transformation significantly enhances the conductivity of LMMs.
- This discovery has implications for fluid mechanics, thermal science, flexible electronics, and biomedicine.
Related Concept Videos
02:39Phase Transitions: Melting and Freezing
Heating a crystalline solid increases the average energy of its atoms, molecules, or ions, and the solid gets hotter. At some point, the added energy becomes large enough to partially overcome the forces holding the molecules or ions of the solid in their fixed positions, and the solid begins the process of transitioning to the liquid state or melting. At this point, the temperature of the solid stops rising, despite the continual input of heat, and it remains constant until all of the solid is...
01:23States of Water
Water exists in any one of the three classical states: solid (ice), liquid (water), and gas (steam or water vapor). The state of water depends on i) the intermolecular forces that draw molecules together and ii) the kinetic energy that leads to movements that pull them apart.
Water freezes when the intermolecular forces are greater than the kinetic energy. Unlike most other substances, water is less dense in its solid state than in its liquid state. This is because each water molecule can form...
Water freezes when the intermolecular forces are greater than the kinetic energy. Unlike most other substances, water is less dense in its solid state than in its liquid state. This is because each water molecule can form...
02:32Bonding in Metals
Metallic bonds are formed between two metal atoms. A simplified model to describe metallic bonding has been developed by Paul Drüde called the “Electron Sea Model”.