Liquid metal (LM) is an emerging class of material that holds great potential in soft electronics, energy storage, and biomedical applications due to its unique combination of high conductivity, self-healing, and fluidic properties at room temperature. But the fluidity nature also presents significant challenges in their processing, patterning, and integration with other functional materials. One effective way to address this issue is to disperse LM into nanoparticles (LM NPs). However, LM NPs are generally not stable in aqueous suspension and prone to aggregation and oxidation. There is a strong need for innovative approaches to create hybrid functional materials based on LM and polymers with enhanced stability, processability, and new functionalities. In this talk, I will present our recent progress in the creation of core-shell hybrid nanocolloids with LM core and functional polymer shells. The LM-polymer hybrid nanocolloids can be assembled into well-defined 2D/3D structures, and the polymer shell and LM core can phase separate on-demand upon applying external stimuli. Furthermore, the hybrid nanocolloids can be assembled, patterned, and used as soft and flexible electrode materials for energy-storage devices with enhanced performance.

Hybrid functional materials based on liquid metal nanoparticles and functional polymers for energy applications

ACS Fall 2021

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