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Biomucilage-Mediated Self-Sintering Liquid Metal Ink for Robust Electronic Textiles With Soft-Rigid Interfaces
Mei Zou1, Bin Chen1, Xiangyu Sun2
1Department of Chemistry, Key Laboratory of Organic Optoelectronics and Molecular Engineering of the Ministry of Education, Tsinghua University, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Advanced Materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)
|July 28, 2026
Summary
Researchers developed a novel biomucilage-mediated liquid metal (bio-LM) ink for durable electronic textiles (e-textiles). This ink enables robust, stretchable circuits on fabrics for advanced health monitoring and thermal therapy applications.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Textile Engineering
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- Advancing electronic textiles (e-textiles) requires conductive materials that are soft, breathable, and deformable like fabrics.
- Conventional conductive materials face challenges in textile integration, including poor adhesion, limited stretchability, and inadequate wettability.
- Liquid metal's high surface tension and poor wettability hinder its adhesion to textiles, despite its conductivity and deformability.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a novel liquid metal ink for direct printing on textiles, enabling robust and stretchable e-textile circuits.
- To create a new material foundation for skin-comfortable, breathable, elastic, and durable e-textiles.
- To demonstrate the applicability of the developed ink in integrated health-monitoring systems.
Main Methods:
- Formulation of a biomucilage-mediated liquid metal (bio-LM) ink for direct textile printing.
- Autonomous self-sintering of the bio-LM ink upon drying to form conductive circuits.
- Development of hole-like electrical interconnect (e-hole) structures for robust junctions between textiles and components.
- Characterization of electrical performance under stretching and temperature variations.
Main Results:
- The bio-LM ink forms strong bonds with textiles, creating deformable interconnects with stable electrical performance (resistance variation <4% under 15% stretching).
- Stable electrical performance was observed across a temperature range of 20°C-50°C.
- E-hole structures enabled robust, solder-like electrical junctions between soft textiles and rigid components through physical anchoring and chemical alloying.
- Demonstrated a closed-loop e-textile system for real-time muscle fatigue monitoring and heat therapy.
Conclusions:
- The bio-LM ink provides a new material basis for robust, scalable, and skin-comfortable e-textiles.
- This approach overcomes limitations of conventional conductive materials for seamless integration into fabrics.
- The developed e-textile system shows promise for advanced, wearable health-monitoring and therapeutic applications.
