POS4-0496

Reconfigurable EGaIn Nanoinks Stabilized by Conjugated Polymers in Water

Topic

S4. Colloids, Interfaces, and Molecular Assemblies for Functional Soft Materials

When and Where

Sep 30, 2026 08:30 - 09:30

Room 301 (Grand Ballroom)

Session Chairs

Heesuk KIM

Jinhye BAE

Presenter(s)

Eunjin Choi (Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Gwangju 61005, Republic of Korea; GIST InnoCORE AI-Nano Convergence Institute for Early Detection of Neurodegenerative Diseases, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Gwangju 61005, Republic of Korea)

Co-Author(s)

Gaeun Park (Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Gwangju 61005, Republic of Korea; GIST InnoCORE AI-Nano Convergence Institute for Early Detection of Neurodegenerative Diseases, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Gwangju 61005, Republic of Korea), Hyojun Kim (Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Gwangju 61005, Republic of Korea; GIST InnoCORE AI-Nano Convergence Institute for Early Detection of Neurodegenerative Diseases, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Gwangju 61005, Republic of Korea), Niraj K. Vishwakarma (Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Gwangju 61005, Republic of Korea), Minjeong Ha (Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Gwangju 61005, Republic of Korea), Eunji Lee (Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Gwangju 61005, Republic of Korea; GIST InnoCORE AI-Nano Convergence Institute for Early Detection of Neurodegenerative Diseases, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Gwangju 61005, Republic of Korea; Department of Chemistry, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Gwangju 61005, Republic of Korea)

Abstract

Eutectic gallium-indium (EGaIn) is a promising conductive fluid for stretchable circuits, wearable sensors, and biointerfaced devices, but turning bulk EGaIn into printable nanoinks is difficult: as particles shrink, interfacial energy, spontaneous gallium-oxide formation, and colloidal instability dominate. Surfactant-assisted sonication can disperse liquid-metal particles, but conventional surfactants introduce insulating interfaces, weak substrate adhesion, and little chemical programmability, often requiring extra activation to recover conductivity. Here, we present reconfigurable EGaIn nanoinks stabilized by conjugated polymers in water through a one-pot sonication process. During emulsion-induced self-assembly, the conjugated polymers spontaneously localize at the EGaIn-water interface and form stable nanoparticles without conventional surfactants. Both block-copolymer and homopolymer stabilizers are applicable, allowing structural variation in polymer architecture and crystallinity; in particular, polythiophene-based block copolymers provide tunable adhesion and mechanical flexibility under strain. The resulting water-based liquid-metal nanoinks are integrated into stretchable devices in which conductive patterns can be erased and rewritten on demand, establishing conjugated polymers as multifunctional stabilizers for liquid-metal inks and a polymer-centered route to reconfigurable, skin-interfaced bioelectronics.

Keywords: Liquid metal inks, Eutectic Ga/In alloy, Conjugated polymers, Block copolymers, Reconfigurable circuits, soft electronics

Acknowledgment: This work was supported by the InnoCORE program of the Ministry of Science and ICT(GIST InnoCORE KH0860)

Back to List