Work

Strain‐Resilient Electronics via Dynamically Reconstructable Liquid‐Metal

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: ABSTRACT Liquid metals (LMs) combine metallic conductivity with fluidic deformability, but effectively harnessing their mobility to construct strain‐adaptive conductive networks that offset geometrically induced resistance growth remains a central materials‐design challenge. Here, we report an intrinsically stretchable strain‐insensitive conductive film (ISSICF) that couples formation‐stage vertical organization with operation‐stage strain‐adaptive network evolution. During evaporation‐assisted and gravity‐induced phase separation, liquid‐metal particles (LMPs) become enriched in the bottom region of a thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) matrix, producing a monolithic asymmetric architecture with an upper TPU‐rich insulating/supporting region and a bottom LMP‐rich conductive region. Under tensile deformation, the particle‐derived LM network undergoes directional deformation, contact evolution, and local pathway rearrangement, partially compensating for geometrically induced resistance increases. Oxide‐mediated interactions between the LMP surface and polar TPU chains may further support interfacial confinement and stress transfer. The optimized ISSICF containing 50 wt.% LM exhibits a conductivity of 5.26 × 10 4 S m − 1 and a resistance variation of ΔR/R 0 = 1.08 at 615% strain, while remaining electrically conductive after more than 25 000 cycles at 100% strain. It also maintains an X‐band shielding effectiveness of 65 dB at 400% strain and supports deformable interconnects, DIW‐printed wireless coils, and wearable photosensitive circuits.

Source: Advanced Functional Materials

DOI: 10.1002/adfm.78063