Recent advances in liquid-metal-based wearable electronics and materials

Phillip Won; Seongmin Jeong; Carmel Majidi; Seung Hwan Ko

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2021.102698

Recent advances in liquid-metal-based wearable electronics and materials

iScience. 2021 Jun 9;24(7):102698. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2021.102698. eCollection 2021 Jul 23.

Authors

Phillip Won^{1

2}, Seongmin Jeong², Carmel Majidi¹, Seung Hwan Ko^{2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Mechanical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.
² Department of Mechanical Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea.
³ Institute of Advanced Machines and Design / Institute of Engineering Research, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea.

Abstract

Soft wearable electronics are rapidly developing through exploration of new materials, fabrication approaches, and design concepts. Although there have been many efforts for decades, a resurgence of interest in liquid metals (LMs) for sensing and wiring functional properties of materials in soft wearable electronics has brought great advances in wearable electronics and materials. Various forms of LMs enable many routes to fabricate flexible and stretchable sensors, circuits, and functional wearables with many desirable properties. This review article presents a systematic overview of recent progresses in LM-enabled wearable electronics that have been achieved through material innovations and the discovery of new fabrication approaches and design architectures. We also present applications of wearable LM technologies for physiological sensing, activity tracking, and energy harvesting. Finally, we discuss a perspective on future opportunities and challenges for wearable LM electronics as this field continues to grow.

Keywords: Bioelectronics; Devices; Electronic materials; Metals.

Publication types

Review