Journal
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
Volume 6, Issue 24, Pages 22467-22473Publisher
AMER CHEMICAL SOC
DOI: 10.1021/am506496u
Keywords
EGaIn; continuous electrowetting; rheology; wetting; slip layer; fluidic antenna
Funding
- NSF CAREER [CMMI-0954321]
- Chancellors Innovation Fund
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Eutectic gallium indium (EGaIn) is a promising liquid metal for a variety of electrical and optical applications that take advantage of its soft and fluid properties. The presence of a rapidly forming oxide skin on the surface of the metal causes it to stick to many surfaces, which limits the ability to easily reconfigure its shape on demand. This paper shows that water can provide an interfacial slip layer between EGaIn and other surfaces, which allows the metal to flow smoothly through capillaries and across surfaces without sticking. Rheological and surface characterization shows that the presence of water also changes the chemical composition of the oxide skin and weakens its mechanical strength, although not enough to allow the metal to flow freely in microchannels without the slip layer. The slip layer provides new opportunities to control and actuate liquid metal plugs in microchannels-including the use of continuous electrowetting-enabling new possibilities for shape reconfigurable electronics, sensors, actuators, and antennas.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available