Digital Shear Printing of Mechanically Robust Liquid Metal Circuits with Hierarchical Embedded Structure for Paper Electronics
The seamless integration of recyclable and deformable liquid metal (LM) conductors into paper is attractive to developing flexible, breathable, and green electronics. However, the weak adhesion between paper and LM complicates the patterning. In addition, the low damage endurance of LM, an open prob...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley-VCH
2025-04-01
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| Series: | Small Structures |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/sstr.202400453 |
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| author | Biao Ma Gangsheng Chen Yi Chen Jin Zhang Yanjie Chen Haoran Deng Yakun Gao Mengwen Yan Jingtai Shang Heng Zhang Feng Zhang Chang Cui Chao Zhao Hong Liu |
| author_facet | Biao Ma Gangsheng Chen Yi Chen Jin Zhang Yanjie Chen Haoran Deng Yakun Gao Mengwen Yan Jingtai Shang Heng Zhang Feng Zhang Chang Cui Chao Zhao Hong Liu |
| author_sort | Biao Ma |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The seamless integration of recyclable and deformable liquid metal (LM) conductors into paper is attractive to developing flexible, breathable, and green electronics. However, the weak adhesion between paper and LM complicates the patterning. In addition, the low damage endurance of LM, an open problem for on‐surface conductors, restricts the practical applications. Here, a simple yet efficient approach of shear printing is reported to directly pattern hierarchical embedded LM circuits with erasure resistance onto paper. This is achieved by digitally applying the shear force to the solid gallium film to induce its adhesive wear with the paper, allowing the gallium to be embedded into the paper's fiber networks. Meanwhile, the pressure‐induced formation of microgrooves on paper allows the LM circuits to be surface‐embedded onto paper. The hierarchical embedded structure endows the LM circuits with enhanced mechanical damage endurance that they can even withstand eraser rubbing and tape peeling. Applications of the hierarchical embedded, mechanically robust, and breathable LM‐enabled paper electronics in enhanced humidity sensing, electrophysiology monitoring, and digital droplet microfluidics are also shown. This work opens doors to developing sustainable yet robust paper electronics by rationally utilizing the solid properties of low‐melting‐point metals. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e6b859eef34c41c486e2562534eaaef8 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2688-4062 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | Wiley-VCH |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Small Structures |
| spelling | doaj-art-e6b859eef34c41c486e2562534eaaef82025-08-20T02:16:55ZengWiley-VCHSmall Structures2688-40622025-04-0164n/an/a10.1002/sstr.202400453Digital Shear Printing of Mechanically Robust Liquid Metal Circuits with Hierarchical Embedded Structure for Paper ElectronicsBiao Ma0Gangsheng Chen1Yi Chen2Jin Zhang3Yanjie Chen4Haoran Deng5Yakun Gao6Mengwen Yan7Jingtai Shang8Heng Zhang9Feng Zhang10Chang Cui11Chao Zhao12Hong Liu13State Key Laboratory of Digital Medical Engineering School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering Southeast University Nanjing 210096 ChinaState Key Laboratory of Digital Medical Engineering School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering Southeast University Nanjing 210096 ChinaState Key Laboratory of Digital Medical Engineering School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering Southeast University Nanjing 210096 ChinaState Key Laboratory of Digital Medical Engineering School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering Southeast University Nanjing 210096 ChinaState Key Laboratory of Digital Medical Engineering School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering Southeast University Nanjing 210096 ChinaState Key Laboratory of Digital Medical Engineering School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering Southeast University Nanjing 210096 ChinaState Key Laboratory of Digital Medical Engineering School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering Southeast University Nanjing 210096 ChinaState Key Laboratory of Digital Medical Engineering School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering Southeast University Nanjing 210096 ChinaState Key Laboratory of Digital Medical Engineering School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering Southeast University Nanjing 210096 ChinaState Key Laboratory of Digital Medical Engineering School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering Southeast University Nanjing 210096 ChinaDepartment of Cardiology The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University Nanjing 210000 ChinaDepartment of Cardiology The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University Nanjing 210000 ChinaState Key Laboratory of Digital Medical Engineering School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering Southeast University Nanjing 210096 ChinaState Key Laboratory of Digital Medical Engineering School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering Southeast University Nanjing 210096 ChinaThe seamless integration of recyclable and deformable liquid metal (LM) conductors into paper is attractive to developing flexible, breathable, and green electronics. However, the weak adhesion between paper and LM complicates the patterning. In addition, the low damage endurance of LM, an open problem for on‐surface conductors, restricts the practical applications. Here, a simple yet efficient approach of shear printing is reported to directly pattern hierarchical embedded LM circuits with erasure resistance onto paper. This is achieved by digitally applying the shear force to the solid gallium film to induce its adhesive wear with the paper, allowing the gallium to be embedded into the paper's fiber networks. Meanwhile, the pressure‐induced formation of microgrooves on paper allows the LM circuits to be surface‐embedded onto paper. The hierarchical embedded structure endows the LM circuits with enhanced mechanical damage endurance that they can even withstand eraser rubbing and tape peeling. Applications of the hierarchical embedded, mechanically robust, and breathable LM‐enabled paper electronics in enhanced humidity sensing, electrophysiology monitoring, and digital droplet microfluidics are also shown. This work opens doors to developing sustainable yet robust paper electronics by rationally utilizing the solid properties of low‐melting‐point metals.https://doi.org/10.1002/sstr.202400453adhesive wearliquid metalpaper electronicspatterningsustainable electronics |
| spellingShingle | Biao Ma Gangsheng Chen Yi Chen Jin Zhang Yanjie Chen Haoran Deng Yakun Gao Mengwen Yan Jingtai Shang Heng Zhang Feng Zhang Chang Cui Chao Zhao Hong Liu Digital Shear Printing of Mechanically Robust Liquid Metal Circuits with Hierarchical Embedded Structure for Paper Electronics Small Structures adhesive wear liquid metal paper electronics patterning sustainable electronics |
| title | Digital Shear Printing of Mechanically Robust Liquid Metal Circuits with Hierarchical Embedded Structure for Paper Electronics |
| title_full | Digital Shear Printing of Mechanically Robust Liquid Metal Circuits with Hierarchical Embedded Structure for Paper Electronics |
| title_fullStr | Digital Shear Printing of Mechanically Robust Liquid Metal Circuits with Hierarchical Embedded Structure for Paper Electronics |
| title_full_unstemmed | Digital Shear Printing of Mechanically Robust Liquid Metal Circuits with Hierarchical Embedded Structure for Paper Electronics |
| title_short | Digital Shear Printing of Mechanically Robust Liquid Metal Circuits with Hierarchical Embedded Structure for Paper Electronics |
| title_sort | digital shear printing of mechanically robust liquid metal circuits with hierarchical embedded structure for paper electronics |
| topic | adhesive wear liquid metal paper electronics patterning sustainable electronics |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/sstr.202400453 |
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