Printable and Recyclable Conductive Ink Based on a Liquid Metal with Excellent Surface Wettability for Flexible Electronics

• DOI: 10.1021/acsami.0c20549
• Publication Date: 2021-02-06T11:45:12Z
• Authors: Jianyu Xu; Hongda Guo; Hongyao Ding; Qiao Wang; Ziqing Tang; Zongjin Li; Guoxing Sun
• Keywords: Environmentally Friendly; Conductive ink; Liquid metal; Vinyl alcohol; Surface Modification

Flexible electronics greatly facilitate human life due to their convenience and comfortable utilization. Liquid metals are an ideal candidate for flexible devices; however, the high surface tension poor wettability restrict application on diverse substrates. Herein, a printable recyclable ink composed of poly(vinyl alcohol) liquid metal (PVA-LM) was developed resolve these problems. The materials were designed considering compatibility between PVA metal, composite theory applied determine component proportion. composites improved substrates, three-dimensional (3D) printing technology chosen maximize use this material. Moreover, PVA-LM showed excellent conductivity about 1.3 × 105 S/m after being turned on, which favored designing alarm systems object locators. sensors produced with have broad application, sensitivity, superstable signal generation even 200 cycles. When acting as strain sensors, constructed had sensitivity monitoring movements. Furthermore, in printed products can be recycled under alkaline conditions. This study opens new direction next environmentally friendly devices.