An autonomously electrically self-healing liquid metal–elastomer composite for robust soft-matter robotics and electronics
Top Cited Papers
- 21 May 2018
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Springer Science and Business Media LLC in Nature Materials
- Vol. 17 (7), 618-624
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-018-0084-7
Abstract
Large-area stretchable electronics are critical for progress in wearable computing, soft robotics and inflatable structures. Recent efforts have focused on engineering electronics from soft materials—elastomers, polyelectrolyte gels and liquid metal. While these materials enable elastic compliance and deformability, they are vulnerable to tearing, puncture and other mechanical damage modes that cause electrical failure. Here, we introduce a material architecture for soft and highly deformable circuit interconnects that are electromechanically stable under typical loading conditions, while exhibiting uncompromising resilience to mechanical damage. The material is composed of liquid metal droplets suspended in a soft elastomer; when damaged, the droplets rupture to form new connections with neighbours and re-route electrical signals without interruption. Since self-healing occurs spontaneously, these materials do not require manual repair or external heat. We demonstrate this unprecedented electronic robustness in a self-repairing digital counter and self-healing soft robotic quadruped that continue to function after significant damage.This publication has 44 references indexed in Scilit:
- Stretchable, Transparent, Ionic ConductorsScience, 2013
- Opportunities with Fabric Composites as Unique Flexible SubstratesACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 2012
- Electrical Resistance of AgTS–S(CH2)n−1CH3//Ga2O3/EGaIn Tunneling JunctionsThe Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 2012
- Three-dimensional nanonetworks for giant stretchability in dielectrics and conductorsNature Communications, 2012
- Autonomic Restoration of Electrical ConductivityAdvanced Materials, 2011
- Eutectic Gallium‐Indium (EGaIn): A Liquid Metal Alloy for the Formation of Stable Structures in Microchannels at Room TemperatureAdvanced Functional Materials, 2008
- Eutectic Gallium–Indium (EGaIn): A Moldable Liquid Metal for Electrical Characterization of Self‐Assembled MonolayersAngewandte Chemie, 2007
- Towards electrically conductive, self-healing materialsJournal of The Royal Society Interface, 2007
- Controlled buckling of semiconductor nanoribbons for stretchable electronicsNature Nanotechnology, 2006
- X-ray study of the oxidation of liquid-gallium surfacesPhysical Review B, 1997