Flexible hybrid conductor comprising eutectic Ga-In liquid metal and Ag nanowires for the application of electronic skin

After exposure to repeated mechanical bending, liquid metals based on Ga can experience severe oxidation, while Ag nanowires can be welded each other with no prior thermal annealing. Herein, a hybrid conductor fabricated by combining Ga-based liquid metal (eutectic alloy comprising 75 wt% Ga and 25 wt% In) with a Ag nanowire network is presented to feature high mechanical flexibility and small increase of electrical resistance under applied stress condition. Increase of bending-induced resistance of the hybrid conductor (12.5% at a bending radius of 0.5 mm) was much smaller than that of eutectic alloy without Ag nanowire network, which could also be fully reverted by 10 min heating at 50 degrees C. The experimental results demonstrate that loss of electrical paths from disconnection of liquid metals can be effectively recovered with an assistance of Ag nanowire interconnection. (C) 2019 Published by Elsevier B.V.