Liquid metal skins turned into power source for stretchable batteries and devices

Nanowerk  November 6, 2023
Liquid metals which behave like liquid at room temperature have unique mechanical and electrical properties which make them favorable for soft electronics and stretchable conductors. They form a thin oxide layer on their surface. Researchers at the Boston University have introduced a new approach where liquid metal oxide served as an electrochemical energy source. By mechanically rupturing their surface oxide, liquid metals formed a galvanic cell and converted their chemical energy to electrical energy. When dispersing liquid metals into an ionically-conductive liquid to form emulsions, this composite material provided ∼500 mV of open-circuit voltage and up to ∼4 μW of power. Protected by the naturally occurring oxide skin, the passivating oxide layer of the liquid metal shields it formed self-discharge over time. The device was stable in harsh environments, such as high temperature or aquatic conditions. They demonstrated future applications of the device by designing a strain-activated stretchable battery and a pressure-sensitive self-powered keypad… read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLE