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Versatile Liquid Metal Composite Inks for Printable, Durable, and Ultra-Stretchable Electronics.
Jeongsu Pyeon1, Hyeonseung Lee2, Wonho Choe2
1Department of Mechanical Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon, 34141, Republic of Korea.
Small (Weinheim an Der Bergstrasse, Germany)
|June 12, 2025
Summary
A new liquid metal composite particle (LMCP) ink overcomes printing challenges for flexible electronics. This self-sintering ink enables high-performance, stretchable electrodes and metamaterial absorbers via advanced printing techniques.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Nanotechnology
- Electrical Engineering
Background:
- Liquid metal (LM) possesses excellent properties for stretchable and flexible electronics.
- Challenges like high surface tension and poor wettability hinder commercial printing of liquid metals.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a self-sintering liquid metal composite particle (LMCP) ink for printable electronics.
- To overcome the limitations of liquid metal inks in commercial printing processes.
Main Methods:
- Created LMCP ink with tunable surface tension, viscosity, and wettability using polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)-capped liquid metal particles (LMPs) and Laponite.
- Achieved uniform, coffee-ring-free deposition via solutal-Marangoni-driven mixing and particle settling under ambient conditions.
- Developed a co-self-assembly process for LMCPs to promote self-sintering.
Main Results:
- The LMCP ink demonstrates coffee-ring-free, crack-free, and post-processing-free deposition.
- Resulting electrodes exhibit over 1200% stretchability and maintain electrical conductivity.
- The printed electrodes show stability for nearly one year in air and can be patterned into complex configurations.
Conclusions:
- The developed LMCP ink is suitable for commercial printing of stretchable and flexible electronic devices.
- LMCPs show potential for applications in advanced printable electronics, such as stretchable metamaterial absorbers.
- This innovation facilitates the widespread adoption of liquid metal in next-generation electronic applications.
