Preparations, Characteristics and Applications of the Functional Liquid Metal Materials

As new generation functional materials, the recently emerging low-melting liquid metals have displayed many unconventional properties superior to traditional materials. Various methods, such as alloying, oxidizing, adding metals, or non-metallic materials and so on, have been developed to prepare desirable functional materials based on the gallium or more other metals. These methods could not only change the form of the materials, but also endow the original liquid metals with rather diversified performances, which have further expanded the application range of the low-melting liquid metals to meet various needs. This article aims to review and summarize on the fabrication methods, characteristics, and applications of the functional liquid metal materials. Furthermore, the future outlook in this field, including challenges, routes, and related efforts, has also been illustrated and interpreted.