The hybrid structure of liquid metal units and organic elastomer has huge potential in achieving stretchable and reversible stiffness regulation, while such tuning is often restrained by high energy consumption for liquid metal solidification. Here, we conceive to solve the above challenge through introducing the fully leveraging interaction between supercooled liquid metal and homocrystal seeds within silicone elastomer. It is disclosed that the supercooled liquid metal-elastomer can maintain an extremely stable soft state until the supercooling is eliminated by modulating the mechanical force and elastomer deformation. This circumvents the utilization of intricate refrigeration equipment and offers a highly efficient and concise strategy for stiffness regulation. Moreover, conceptual experiments were performed to demonstrate the practical values of this technology through designing and testing the new shape memory materials, temperature-sensitive switches, and controlled circuits. The solidification mechanisms of supercooled Ga triggered by homocrystal seeds were interpreted. Overall, the present finding has generalized purposes and holds promise to significantly extend the theoretical and technological categories of classical stiffness tunable materials.
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June 2024
Research Article|
April 08 2024
Stretchable stiffness-tuning of liquid metal elastomer triggered by homocrystal seeds
Ju Wang
;
Ju Wang
(Formal analysis, Investigation, Methodology, Visualization, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing)
1
Key Laboratory of Cryogenic Science and Technology, Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences
, Beijing 100190, China
2
Beijing Key Lab of CryoBiomedical Engineering, Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences
, Beijing 100190, China
3
School of Future Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
, Beijing 100049, China
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Yangtai Hao
;
Yangtai Hao
(Formal analysis, Investigation, Methodology, Visualization, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing)
1
Key Laboratory of Cryogenic Science and Technology, Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences
, Beijing 100190, China
2
Beijing Key Lab of CryoBiomedical Engineering, Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences
, Beijing 100190, China
3
School of Future Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
, Beijing 100049, China
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Yuchen Yao
;
Yuchen Yao
(Methodology, Validation, Visualization)
1
Key Laboratory of Cryogenic Science and Technology, Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences
, Beijing 100190, China
2
Beijing Key Lab of CryoBiomedical Engineering, Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences
, Beijing 100190, China
3
School of Future Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
, Beijing 100049, China
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Jingyi Li
;
Jingyi Li
(Investigation, Methodology, Validation)
1
Key Laboratory of Cryogenic Science and Technology, Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences
, Beijing 100190, China
2
Beijing Key Lab of CryoBiomedical Engineering, Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences
, Beijing 100190, China
3
School of Future Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
, Beijing 100049, China
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Yujia Song
;
Yujia Song
(Investigation, Methodology, Visualization)
1
Key Laboratory of Cryogenic Science and Technology, Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences
, Beijing 100190, China
2
Beijing Key Lab of CryoBiomedical Engineering, Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences
, Beijing 100190, China
3
School of Future Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
, Beijing 100049, China
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Jianye Gao
;
Jianye Gao
a)
(Methodology, Visualization, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing)
4
Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Medicine, Tsinghua University
, Beijing 100084, China
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Jing Liu
Jing Liu
b)
(Conceptualization, Funding acquisition, Project administration, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing)
1
Key Laboratory of Cryogenic Science and Technology, Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences
, Beijing 100190, China
2
Beijing Key Lab of CryoBiomedical Engineering, Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences
, Beijing 100190, China
3
School of Future Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
, Beijing 100049, China
4
Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Medicine, Tsinghua University
, Beijing 100084, China
b)Author to whom correspondence should be addressed: jliu@mail.ipc.ac.cn
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b)Author to whom correspondence should be addressed: jliu@mail.ipc.ac.cn
a)
Electronic mail: gaojianye@mail.tsinghua.edu.cn
Appl. Phys. Rev. 11, 021406 (2024)
Article history
Received:
November 01 2023
Accepted:
March 13 2024
Connected Content
A companion article has been published:
Introducing homocrystal seeds to supercooled liquid metal for stiffness-tunable properties
Citation
Ju Wang, Yangtai Hao, Yuchen Yao, Jingyi Li, Yujia Song, Jianye Gao, Jing Liu; Stretchable stiffness-tuning of liquid metal elastomer triggered by homocrystal seeds. Appl. Phys. Rev. 1 June 2024; 11 (2): 021406. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0185725
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