Journal
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Volume 111, Issue 39, Pages 14047-14051Publisher
NATL ACAD SCIENCES
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1412227111
Keywords
EGaIn; electrocapillarity; electrorheology; dewetting; spreading
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Funding
- National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER [CMMI-0954321]
- Research Triangle NSF Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) on Programmable Soft Matter [DMR-1121107]
- Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need (GAANN) fellowship
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We present a method to control the interfacial tension of a liquid alloy of gallium via electrochemical deposition ( or removal) of the oxide layer on its surface. In sharp contrast with conventional surfactants, this method provides unprecedented lowering of surface tension (similar to 500 mJ/m(2) to near zero) using very low voltage, and the change is completely reversible. This dramatic change in the interfacial tension enables a variety of electrohydrodynamic phenomena. The ability to manipulate the interfacial properties of the metal promises rich opportunities in shape-reconfigurable metallic components in electronic, electromagnetic, and microfluidic devices without the use of toxic mercury. This work suggests that the wetting properties of surface oxides-which are ubiquitous on most metals and semiconductors-are intrinsic surfactants. The inherent asymmetric nature of the surface coupled with the ability to actively manipulate its energetics is expected to have important applications in electrohydrodynamics, composites, and melt processing of oxide-forming materials.
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