Transfer printing techniques based on tunable and reversible adhesives enable the heterogeneous integration of materials in desired layouts and are essential for developing both existing and envisioned electronic systems. Here, a novel tunable and reversible adhesive of liquid metal ferrofluid pillars for developing an efficient magnetically actuated noncontact transfer printing is reported. The liquid metal ferrofluid pillars offer the appealing advantages of gentle contact force by minimizing the preload effect and exceptional shape adaptability by maximizing the interfacial contact area due to their inherent fluidity, thus enabling a reliable damage-free pickup. Moreover, the liquid metal ferrofluid pillars harness the rapid stiffness increase and shape change with the magnetic field, generating an instantaneous ejection force to achieve a receiver-independent noncontact printing. Demonstrations of the adhesive of liquid metal ferrofluid pillars in transfer printing of diverse objects with different shapes, materials and dimensions onto various substrates illustrate its great potential in deterministic assembly.
Keywords: liquid metal pillars; reversible adhesive; transfer printing; tunable adhesive.
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