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Kim JH, Kim S, Dickey MD, So JH, Koo HJ. Interface of gallium-based liquid metals: oxide skin, wetting, and applications. NANOSCALE HORIZONS 2024; 9:1099-1119. [PMID: 38716614 DOI: 10.1039/d4nh00067f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/25/2024]
Abstract
Gallium-based liquid metals (GaLMs) are promising for a variety of applications-especially as a component material for soft devices-due to their fluidic nature, low toxicity and reactivity, and high electrical and thermal conductivity comparable to solid counterparts. Understanding the interfacial properties and behaviors of GaLMs in different environments is crucial for most applications. When exposed to air or water, GaLMs form a gallium oxide layer with nanoscale thickness. This "oxide nano-skin" passivates the metal surface and allows for the formation of stable microstructures and films despite the high-surface tension of liquid metal. The oxide skin easily adheres to most smooth surfaces. While it enables effective printing and patterning of the GaLMs, it can also make the metals challenging to handle because it adheres to most surfaces. The oxide also affects the interfacial electrical resistance of the metals. Its formation, thickness, and composition can be chemically or electrochemically controlled, altering the physical, chemical, and electrical properties of the metal interface. Without the oxide, GaLMs wet metallic surfaces but do not wet non-metallic substrates such as polymers. The topography of the underlying surface further influences the wetting characteristics of the metals. This review outlines the interfacial attributes of GaLMs in air, water, and other environments and discusses relevant applications based on interfacial engineering. The effect of surface topography on the wetting behaviors of the GaLMs is also discussed. Finally, we suggest important research topics for a better understanding of the GaLMs interface.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ji-Hye Kim
- Department of Energy and Chemical Engineering, Seoul National University of Science & Technology, 232 Gongneung-ro, Nowon-gu, Seoul, 01811, Republic of Korea
| | - Sooyoung Kim
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27695, USA.
| | - Michael D Dickey
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27695, USA.
| | - Ju-Hee So
- Material & Component Convergence R&D Department, Korea Institute of Industrial Technology, Ansan-si, 15588, Republic of Korea.
| | - Hyung-Jun Koo
- Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Seoul National University of Science & Technology, 232 Gongneung-ro, Nowon-gu, Seoul, 01811, Republic of Korea.
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Duan L, Zhang Y, Zhao J, Zhang J, Li Q, Lu Q, Fu L, Liu J, Liu Q. Unique Surface Fluorescence Induced from the Core-Shell Structure of Gallium-Based Liquid Metals Prepared by Thermal Oxidation Processing. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2022; 14:39654-39664. [PMID: 35979950 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.2c12420] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Liquid metals (LMs) have emerged as promising functional materials that combine the properties of both liquid and metal. These characteristics enabled them to find applications in many fields. However, the LMs usually can only display a silver-white physical appearance, which limits their further applications in the fields with the imposition of stringent requirements for color and aesthetics. Herein, we report that the surface of LMs was transformed directly from metal to fluorescent semiconductor layer by an example of eutectic GaInSn (eGaInSn) induced by thermal oxidation. Specifically, a core-shell structure is formed from the fluorescent layer and the LMs. The shell endows the LMs with fluorescence without affecting their interior fluidity and conductivity. In particular, the formation process as well as the degree of crystallization, phase transformation, and light emission of the fluorescent oxide shell on the surface of LMs is regulated by the component content. A thorough analysis of surface morphology, composition, structure, and properties of the fluorescent shell suggests that the Ga2O3 layer is formed on the surface of gallium-based LMs after their immersion in deionized water. Subsequently, thermal oxidation results in the formation of the β-Ga2O3 shell on the surface of liquid metals. Importantly, abundant oxygen vacancies (VO) in β-Ga2O3 as the donors and the gallium vacancies (VGa), gallium-oxygen vacancy pairs (VO-VGa), defect energy levels, and intrinsic defects as the acceptors enabled the light emission. The fluorescent LMs have promising potential for flexible lighting and displays, anticounterfeiting measures, sensing, and chameleon robots.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liangfei Duan
- Yunnan Key Laboratory for Micro/Nano Materials & Technology, International Joint Research Center for Optoelectronic and Energy Materials, School of Materials and Energy, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China
| | - Yumin Zhang
- Yunnan Key Laboratory for Micro/Nano Materials & Technology, International Joint Research Center for Optoelectronic and Energy Materials, School of Materials and Energy, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China
| | - Jianhong Zhao
- Yunnan Key Laboratory for Micro/Nano Materials & Technology, International Joint Research Center for Optoelectronic and Energy Materials, School of Materials and Energy, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China
| | - Jin Zhang
- Yunnan Key Laboratory for Micro/Nano Materials & Technology, International Joint Research Center for Optoelectronic and Energy Materials, School of Materials and Energy, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China
| | - Qian Li
- CAS Key Laboratory of Cryogenics and Beijing Key Laboratory of Cryo- Biomedical Engineering, Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
| | - Qingjie Lu
- Yunnan Key Laboratory for Micro/Nano Materials & Technology, International Joint Research Center for Optoelectronic and Energy Materials, School of Materials and Energy, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China
| | - Li Fu
- Yunnan Key Laboratory for Micro/Nano Materials & Technology, International Joint Research Center for Optoelectronic and Energy Materials, School of Materials and Energy, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China
| | - Jing Liu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Cryogenics and Beijing Key Laboratory of Cryo- Biomedical Engineering, Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
- Department of Biomedical Engineering School of Medicine Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Qingju Liu
- Yunnan Key Laboratory for Micro/Nano Materials & Technology, International Joint Research Center for Optoelectronic and Energy Materials, School of Materials and Energy, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China
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Goff A, Aukarasereenont P, Nguyen CK, Grant R, Syed N, Zavabeti A, Elbourne A, Daeneke T. An exploration into two-dimensional metal oxides, and other 2D materials, synthesised via liquid metal printing and transfer techniques. Dalton Trans 2021; 50:7513-7526. [PMID: 33977926 DOI: 10.1039/d0dt04364h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Two-dimensional (2D) metal oxides can be difficult to synthesise, and scaling up production using traditional methods is challenging. However, a new liquid metal-based technique, that utilises both "top-down" and "bottom-up" processes, has recently been introduced. These liquids oxidise to form an oxide surface "skin" which may be exfoliated as a 2D flake and subsequently used in various electronic devices and chemical reactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abigail Goff
- School of Engineering, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC, 3001 Australia.
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Karuppannan SK, Martín-Rodríguez A, Ruiz E, Harding P, Harding DJ, Yu X, Tadich A, Cowie B, Qi D, Nijhuis CA. Room temperature conductance switching in a molecular iron(iii) spin crossover junction. Chem Sci 2020; 12:2381-2388. [PMID: 34164002 PMCID: PMC8179334 DOI: 10.1039/d0sc04555a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Herein, we report the first room temperature switchable Fe(iii) molecular spin crossover (SCO) tunnel junction. The junction is constructed from [FeIII(qsal-I)2]NTf2 (qsal-I = 4-iodo-2-[(8-quinolylimino)methyl]phenolate) molecules self-assembled on graphene surfaces with conductance switching of one order of magnitude associated with the high and low spin states of the SCO complex. Normalized conductance analysis of the current–voltage characteristics as a function of temperature reveals that charge transport across the SCO molecule is dominated by coherent tunnelling. Temperature-dependent X-ray absorption spectroscopy and density functional theory confirm the SCO complex retains its SCO functionality on the surface implying that van der Waals molecule—electrode interfaces provide a good trade-off between junction stability while retaining SCO switching capability. These results provide new insights and may aid in the design of other types of molecular devices based on SCO compounds. Herein, we report the first room temperature switchable Fe(iii) molecular spin crossover (SCO) tunnel junction.![]()
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Affiliation(s)
- Senthil Kumar Karuppannan
- Department of Chemistry, National University of Singapore 3 Science Drive Singapore 117543 Singapore
| | - Alejandro Martín-Rodríguez
- Departament de Química Inorgànica, Institut de Recerca de Química Teòrica i Computacional, Universitat de Barcelona Diagonal 645 08028 Barcelona Spain
| | - Eliseo Ruiz
- Departament de Química Inorgànica, Institut de Recerca de Química Teòrica i Computacional, Universitat de Barcelona Diagonal 645 08028 Barcelona Spain
| | - Phimphaka Harding
- Functional Materials and Nanotechnology Center of Excellence, Walailak University Thasala Nakhon Si Thammarat 80160 Thailand
| | - David J Harding
- Functional Materials and Nanotechnology Center of Excellence, Walailak University Thasala Nakhon Si Thammarat 80160 Thailand
| | - Xiaojiang Yu
- Singapore Synchrotron Light Source, National University of Singapore 5 Research Link Singapore 117603 Singapore
| | - Anton Tadich
- Australian Synchrotron Clayton Victoria 3168 Australia
| | - Bruce Cowie
- School of Chemistry and Physics, Queensland University of Technology Brisbane Queensland 4001 Australia
| | - Dongchen Qi
- School of Chemistry and Physics, Queensland University of Technology Brisbane Queensland 4001 Australia
| | - Christian A Nijhuis
- Department of Chemistry, National University of Singapore 3 Science Drive Singapore 117543 Singapore .,Centre for Advanced 2D Materials & Graphene Research, National University of Singapore 6 Science Drive 2 Singapore 117546 Singapore
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Saborio MG, Cai S, Tang J, Ghasemian MB, Mayyas M, Han J, Christoe MJ, Peng S, Koshy P, Esrafilzadeh D, Jalili R, Wang CH, Kalantar-Zadeh K. Liquid Metal Droplet and Graphene Co-Fillers for Electrically Conductive Flexible Composites. SMALL (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2020; 16:e1903753. [PMID: 31565857 DOI: 10.1002/smll.201903753] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2019] [Revised: 08/27/2019] [Indexed: 05/18/2023]
Abstract
Colloidal liquid metal alloys of gallium, with melting points below room temperature, are potential candidates for creating electrically conductive and flexible composites. However, inclusion of liquid metal micro- and nanodroplets into soft polymeric matrices requires a harsh auxiliary mechanical pressing to rupture the droplets to establish continuous pathways for high electrical conductivity. However, such a destructive strategy reduces the integrity of the composites. Here, this problem is solved by incorporating small loading of nonfunctionalized graphene flakes into the composites. The flakes introduce cavities that are filled with liquid metal after only relatively mild press-rolling (<0.1 MPa) to form electrically conductive continuous pathways within the polymeric matrix, while maintaining the integrity and flexibility of the composites. The composites are characterized to show that even very low graphene loadings (≈0.6 wt%) can achieve high electrical conductivity. The electrical conductance remains nearly constant, with changes less than 0.5%, even under a relatively high applied pressure of >30 kPa. The composites are used for forming flexible electrically-conductive tracks in electronic circuits with a self-healing property. The demonstrated application of co-fillers, together with liquid metal droplets, can be used for establishing electrically-conductive printable-composite tracks for future large-area flexible electronics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maricruz G Saborio
- School of Chemical Engineering, University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
| | - Shengxiang Cai
- School of Chemical Engineering, University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
| | - Jianbo Tang
- School of Chemical Engineering, University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
| | - Mohammad B Ghasemian
- School of Chemical Engineering, University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
| | - Mohannad Mayyas
- School of Chemical Engineering, University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
| | - Jialuo Han
- School of Chemical Engineering, University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
| | - Michael J Christoe
- School of Chemical Engineering, University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
| | - Shuhua Peng
- School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
| | - Pramod Koshy
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
| | - Dorna Esrafilzadeh
- Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering, University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
| | - Rouhollah Jalili
- School of Chemical Engineering, University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
| | - Chun H Wang
- School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
| | - Kourosh Kalantar-Zadeh
- School of Chemical Engineering, University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
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Song H, Kim T, Kang S, Jin H, Lee K, Yoon HJ. Ga-Based Liquid Metal Micro/Nanoparticles: Recent Advances and Applications. SMALL (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2020; 16:e1903391. [PMID: 31583849 DOI: 10.1002/smll.201903391] [Citation(s) in RCA: 75] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2019] [Revised: 08/21/2019] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
Liquid metals are emerging as fluidic inorganic materials in various research fields. Micro- and nanoparticles of Ga and its alloys have received particular attention in the last decade due to their non toxicity and accessibility in ambient conditions as well as their interesting chemical, physical, mechanical, and electrical properties. Unique features such as a fluidic nature and self-passivating oxide skin make Ga-based liquid metal particles (LMPs) distinguishable from conventional inorganic particles in the context of synthesis and applications. Here, recent advances in the bottom-up and top-down synthetic methods of Ga-based LMPs, their physicochemical properties, and their applications are summarized. Finally, the current status of the LMPs is highlighted and perspectives on future directions are also provided.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hyunsun Song
- Department of Chemistry and Research Institute for Natural Sciences, Korea University, Seoul, 02841, Republic of Korea
| | - Taekyung Kim
- Department of Chemistry and Research Institute for Natural Sciences, Korea University, Seoul, 02841, Republic of Korea
| | - Seohyun Kang
- Department of Chemistry and Research Institute for Natural Sciences, Korea University, Seoul, 02841, Republic of Korea
| | - Haneul Jin
- Department of Chemistry and Research Institute for Natural Sciences, Korea University, Seoul, 02841, Republic of Korea
| | - Kwangyeol Lee
- Department of Chemistry and Research Institute for Natural Sciences, Korea University, Seoul, 02841, Republic of Korea
| | - Hyo Jae Yoon
- Department of Chemistry and Research Institute for Natural Sciences, Korea University, Seoul, 02841, Republic of Korea
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