Liquid metal enabled plant injectable electronics

Jiang, Muzhi; Chen, Sen; Zhang, Pan; Sun, Yongjun; Ye, Jiao; Deng, Yuxiao; Li, Lei; Liu, Jing

doi:10.1016/j.mattod.2023.04.007

Cited by 19 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Wearable electronic devices that can monitor and regulate the growth of plants are promising in intelligent agriculture and plant-based robots. − Integrating conformable electrodes onto the plant surface without affecting plant movement or physiology still poses a challenge . To address this challenge, a light (around 5 mg) and adhesive gallium thin film can be a competitive candidate.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Breakup-Free and Colorful Liquid Metal Thin Films via Electrochemical Oxidation

Chen,

Ma,

Chen

et al. 2023

ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces

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Thin-film metal conductors featuring high conductivity and stretchability are basic building blocks for high-performance conformable electronics. Gallium-based liquid metals are attractive candidates for thin-film conductors due to their intrinsic stretchability and ease of processing. Moreover, the phase change nature of liquid metal provides an opportunity to create conformal electronics in a substrate-free manner. However, thin liquid metal films tend to break during the solid-to-liquid transition due to the high surface tension of liquid metal. Here, we created breakup-free liquid metal thin films by the electrochemical oxidation of solid gallium films. We show that electrochemical oxidation can enhance the mechanical strength of the gallium oxide layer and its interfacial adhesion to the gallium core. When heated to the liquid state, the oxidized gallium films can maintain their structural integrity on various solid substrates, hydrogels, and even the water surface. The solid–liquid phase change-induced stiffness decrease allowed the gallium films to be conformably attached to various nonplanar surfaces upon heating or water transfer printing. Moreover, we also found that enhanced electrochemical oxidation can result in the formation of structure color due to nanoporous structures on the film surface. We also demonstrate the applications of oxidized liquid metal films in functional electronics, electrophysiological monitoring, and tattoo art.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Breakup-Free and Colorful Liquid Metal Thin Films via Electrochemical Oxidation

Chen,

Ma,

Chen

et al. 2023

ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces

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“…In previous studies, capacitive sensors were usually placed on the surface of the plant, which is easy to manipulate and controllable. In this study, we placed one or two electrodes of the capacitive sensor inside the plant by injection, based on the principle of plant injectable electronics [ 16 ]. To achieve successful injection of foreign substances while minimizing damage to the plant by injection, naturally existing cavities within the plant are utilized.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

In Situ Fabricated Liquid Metal Capacitors for Plant Sensing

et al. 2023

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Capacitive sensors are essential to promoting modernization and intelligence in agriculture. With the continuous advancement of this sensor technology, the demand for materials with high conductivity and flexibility is rapidly increasing. Herein, we introduce liquid metal as a solution for the in-site fabrication of high-performance capacitive sensors for plant sensing. As a comparison, three pathways have been proposed for the preparation of flexible capacitors inside plants, as well as on their surfaces. Specifically, concealed capacitors can be constructed by directly injecting liquid metal into the plant cavity. Printable capacitors are prepared via printing Cu-doped liquid metal with better adhesion on plant surfaces. A composite liquid metal-based capacitive sensor is achieved by printing liquid metal on the plant surface and injecting it into the interior of the plant. While each method has limitations, the composite liquid metal-based capacitive sensor provides an optimal trade-off between signal capture capability and operability. As a result, this composite capacitor is chosen as a sensor for monitoring water changes within plants and demonstrates the desired sensing performance, making it a promising technology for monitoring plant physiology.

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“…Liquid smart materials Liquid smart materials in soft robotics [201][202][203][204] AI enabling control of fluidity and of conductivity…”

Section: New Materials In Electronicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The research advances in micro-nano electronics using innovative polymer-based materials are mainly in flexible electronics [182][183][184][185][186][187][188][189][190][191][192][193][194][195][196][197][198][199][200], the synthesis of new materials having enhanced electrical properties [201][202][203][204][205][206][207][208][209][210][211][212][213][214][215][216][217][218], micro-/nanocircuits [219][220][221][222][223][224][225][226][227], and electronic components [228][229]…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The realization of new materials in electronics includes the implementation of liquid materials [201][202][203][204], mechanical integrated electronic materials [205], smart materials [206][207][208][209][210][211] (magnetorheological fluids, piezoelectric micro actuators, shape memory alloys), carbon-based materials [212][213][214][215][216][217][218] (such as carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and graphene-based materials exhibiting strong electrical properties). The new goals of the research could be to apply AI to enable the control of fluidity and of conductivity, switching circuit logics, the control of material detection (NP movement/orientation, NP activation), and the calibration of circuit sensitivity.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Intelligent Materials and Nanomaterials Improving Physical Properties and Control Oriented on Electronic Implementations

Massaro

2023

Electronics

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The review highlights possible research topics matching the experimental physics of matter with advances in electronics to improve the intelligent design and control of innovative smart materials. Specifically, following the European research guidelines of Key Enabling Technologies (KETs), I propose different topics suitable for project proposals and research, including advances in nanomaterials, nanocomposite materials, nanotechnology, and artificial intelligence (AI), with a focus on electronics implementation. The paper provides a new research framework addressing the study of AI driving electronic systems and design procedures to determine the physical properties of versatile materials and to control dynamically the material’s “self-reaction” when applying external stimuli. The proposed research framework allows one to ideate new circuital solutions to be integrated in intelligent embedded systems formed of materials, algorithms and circuits. The challenge of the review is to bring together different research concepts and topics regarding innovative materials to provide a research direction for possible AI applications. The discussed research topics are classified as Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) 1 and 2.

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Liquid metal enabled plant injectable electronics

Cited by 19 publications

References 28 publications

Breakup-Free and Colorful Liquid Metal Thin Films via Electrochemical Oxidation

Breakup-Free and Colorful Liquid Metal Thin Films via Electrochemical Oxidation

In Situ Fabricated Liquid Metal Capacitors for Plant Sensing

Intelligent Materials and Nanomaterials Improving Physical Properties and Control Oriented on Electronic Implementations

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