Liquid-Suspended and Liquid-Bridged Liquid Metal Microdroplets
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초록
내용
Patterning technologies using liquid metals (LMs) and alloys have been attracting increasing attention in various emerging applications; among them, direct ink writing (DIW) is considered a potentially viable approach for efficient LM additive manufacturing. Herein, colloidal suspensions of LM droplets amenable to additive manufacturing (or “3D printing”) are realized using formulations containing minute amounts of liquid capillary bridges. The resulting LM suspensions exhibit exceptionally high rheological strength with yield stress values well above 1000 Pa, attributed to inter-droplet capillary attraction mediated by the liquid bridges adsorbed on the oxide skin of the LM droplets. Such liquid-bridged LM suspensions, as extrudable ink-type filaments, are based on uncurable continuousphase liquids, have a long pot-life and outstanding shear-thinning properties and shape retention, demonstrating excellent rheological processability suitable for 3D printing.