Recent advances in liquid-metal-based wearable electronics and materials

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrical Engineering
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Soft wearable electronics are advancing rapidly, driven by new materials and designs.
• Liquid metals (LMs) have seen renewed interest for their unique properties in flexible electronics.
• LMs offer versatile routes for fabricating advanced wearable devices.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide a systematic overview of recent progress in liquid metal-enabled wearable electronics.
• To explore innovations in materials, fabrication, and design architectures for LM wearables.
• To discuss applications of LM wearable technologies.

Main Methods:

• Review of recent scientific literature on liquid metal applications in wearable electronics.
• Analysis of material innovations and fabrication techniques for LM-based devices.
• Categorization of applications including physiological sensing, activity tracking, and energy harvesting.

Main Results:

• Significant advancements in LM-enabled flexible and stretchable sensors and circuits.
• Diverse fabrication methods utilizing various forms of LMs have been developed.
• Successful applications demonstrated in physiological monitoring, activity tracking, and energy harvesting.

Conclusions:

• Liquid metals are crucial for the future of advanced soft wearable electronics.
• Continued innovation in materials, fabrication, and design will expand LM wearable capabilities.
• Future opportunities and challenges in this growing field require further investigation.