Flexible electronics is one of the most overwhelming and promising technologies available today, receiving widespread attention from both academia and industry. As it continues to evolve, demands on flexible conductive materials are becoming increasingly prominent. Liquid metals (LMs), which combine the compliance of fluids with the electrical conductivity of metals, are excellent candidates among various material options for fabricating flexible electronics. Following more than a decade of development, LM flexible electronics has become a rather promising research field. This review aims to provide a comprehensive summary and interpretation of the typical progress in LM flexible electronics so as to promote further advancement in the area. First, modification strategies of LMs, such as oxidation and composite approaches (doped particles or mixed polymers), are systematically digested to improve their performances and increase the formability involved. Furthermore, we divide the LM flexible electronics into three major architectures (LM flexible electronics with channels, LM printed electronics, and LM/polymer flexible electronics) and introduce the core patterning methods for each type. In addition, we provide an overview of the representative applications of LM flexible electronics in the categories of soft sensors, biomedicine, flexible energy, electronic fabrics, etc. Finally, the current challenges and potential directions of LM flexible electronics are discussed. Overall, the past progress, current situation, and future outlook as outlined in full view in the present article is expected to inspire tremendous new opportunities for further fundamental research or practical explorations of LM flexible electronics in the coming time.
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Liquid metal flexible electronics: Past, present, and future
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June 2023
Review Article|
May 16 2023
Liquid metal flexible electronics: Past, present, and future

Special Collection:
Flexible and Smart Electronics
Sen Chen
;
Sen Chen
(Conceptualization, Writing – original draft)
1
Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Medicine, Tsinghua University
, Beijing 100084, China
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Ziliang Cui
;
Ziliang Cui
(Writing – original draft)
2
Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical Engineering, School of Engineering Medicine, Beihang University
, Beijing 100083, China
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Hongzhang Wang;
Hongzhang Wang
(Writing – original draft)
1
Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Medicine, Tsinghua University
, Beijing 100084, China
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Xuelin Wang
;
Xuelin Wang
a)
(Conceptualization, Funding acquisition, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing)
2
Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical Engineering, School of Engineering Medicine, Beihang University
, Beijing 100083, China
a)Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed: wangxuelin@buaa.edu.cn and jliubme@tsinghua.edu.cn
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Jing Liu
Jing Liu
a)
(Conceptualization, Funding acquisition, Project administration, Supervision, Writing – review & editing)
1
Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Medicine, Tsinghua University
, Beijing 100084, China
3
Beijing Key Lab of Cryo-Biomedical Engineering and Key Lab of Cryogenics, Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences
, Beijing 100190, China
a)Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed: wangxuelin@buaa.edu.cn and jliubme@tsinghua.edu.cn
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a)Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed: wangxuelin@buaa.edu.cn and jliubme@tsinghua.edu.cn
Note: This paper is part of the special collection on Flexible and Smart Electronics.
Appl. Phys. Rev. 10, 021308 (2023)
Article history
Received:
December 29 2022
Accepted:
March 22 2023
Connected Content
A companion article has been published:
Liquid metals: A solid foundation for flexible electronics
Citation
Sen Chen, Ziliang Cui, Hongzhang Wang, Xuelin Wang, Jing Liu; Liquid metal flexible electronics: Past, present, and future. Appl. Phys. Rev. 1 June 2023; 10 (2): 021308. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0140629
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