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Updated: Aug 14, 2025
A Fabrication Method for Highly Stretchable Conductors with Silver Nanowires
Published on: January 21, 2016
Self-Patterning of Highly Stretchable and Electrically Conductive Liquid Metal Conductors by Direct-Write
Zhongbao Wang1,2, Yigen Wu1,2, Bin Zhu1,2
1Department of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen361005, China.
Abstract:
Stretchable electrodes are desirable in flexible electronics for the transmission and acquisition of electrical signals, but their fabrication process remains challenging. Herein, we report an approach based on patterned liquid metals (LMs) as stretchable electrodes using a super-hydrophilic laser-induced graphene (SHL-LIG) process with electroless plating copper on a polyimide (PI) film. The LMs/SHL-LIG structures are then transferred from the PI film to an Ecoflex substrate as stretchable electrodes with an ultralow sheet resistance of 3.54 mΩ per square and excellent stretchability up to 480% in elongation. Furthermore, these electrodes show outstanding performances of only 8% electrical resistance changes under a tensile strain of 300%, and strong immunity to temperature and pressure changes. As demonstration examples, these electrodes are integrated with a stretchable strain sensing system and a smart magnetic soft robot toward practical applications.
