About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
2026 TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition
|
| Symposium
|
Printed Electronics and Additive Manufacturing of Advanced Functional Materials and Devices—From Processing Concepts to Applications
|
| Presentation Title |
Hybrid 3D Printing of Liquid Metal-Polymer Architectures for Advanced Soft Electronics |
| Author(s) |
Dhanush Patil, Kenan Song |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Dhanush Patil |
| Abstract Scope |
Scalable patterning of liquid metals (LMs) like gallium alloys remains a critical barrier in additive manufacturing of soft electronics, despite their unmatched conductivity, fluidic adaptability, and biocompatibility. To overcome resolution-speed trade-offs and multi-material limitations, we developed a hybrid 3D printing platform featuring a custom microfluidic nozzle that exploits LM-polymer interfacial dynamics. This processing innovation leverages co-flow microfluidics to achieve reconfigurable LM patterning from continuous traces to tunable droplet arrays (singlets to sextets) by synergizing LM oxide skin with hydrophilic polymers. The resulting mechanical adhesion enables sandwich/interdigitated capacitive sensors with 300% increased surface area and high sensitivity (0.26–0.43 kPa⁻¹). This approach bridges additive manufacturing and functional device fabrication, offering conformable, low-cytotoxicity solutions for wearable sensors, soft robotics, and e-skins. By decoupling patterning precision from scale constraints, our platform establishes a scalable route to multifunctional LM-based devices, directly addressing processing-to-application challenges in next-generation printed electronics. |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Planned: |
| Keywords |
Additive Manufacturing, Electronic Materials, Other |