Technique to Create Multifunctional Liquid Metal Composites
Soft composites that use droplets of gallium-based liquid metal could transform multifunctional material engineering. Engineers at Carnegie Mellon University have developed a method to synthesize composites with high stretchability, Joule-heated healing and reprocessability, negligible electromechanical coupling, and electrical and mechanical self-healing. The composites can be 3D printed. The new approach to controlled assembly represents a widely-applicable technique for creating new classes of liquid metal composites with unparalleled multifunctionality.