Michael Dickey
Michael Dickey
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Printing Conductive and Transparent Oxide Films at Room Temperature Using Liquid Metal
Paper: "Ambient Printing of Native Oxides for Ultrathin Transparent Flexible Circuit Boards”, Science, 2024.
Researchers have demonstrated a technique for printing thin metal oxide films at room temperature, and have used the technique to create transparent, flexible circuits that are both robust and able to function at high temperatures.
Creating metal oxides that are useful for electronics has traditionally required making use of specialized equipment that is slow, expensive, and operates at high temperatures.
Metal oxides are an important material found in nearly every electronic device. Most metal oxides are electrically insulating (like glass). Metal oxides that are both conductive and transparent are critically important for the touch screen on your smart phone or the monitor on your computer.
In principle, metal oxides are easy to make. They form naturally on the surface of nearly every metal object in our homes - soda cans, stainless steel pots, and forks - yet these oxides are stuck to the surface of the metal.
For this work, the researchers separate the oxide from a meniscus of liquid metal. If you fill a tube with liquid, a meniscus is the curved surface of the liquid that extends beyond the end of the tube. It’s curved because of the surface tension that prevents the liquid from spilling out completely. In the case of liquid metals, the surface of the meniscus is covered with a thin metal oxide skin that forms where the liquid metal meets the air.
The space between two glass slides is filled with liquid metal so that a small meniscus extends beyond the ends of the slides. The slides are the "printer", and the liquid metal is the "ink". The meniscus of liquid metal can then be brought into contact with a surface. The meniscus is covered with oxide on all sides, analogous to the thin rubber that encases a water balloon. Moving the meniscus across the surface, the metal oxide on the front and back of the meniscus sticks to the surface and peels off, like the trail left behind by a snail. As this happens, the exposed liquid on the meniscus constantly forms fresh oxide to enable continuous printing.
The result is that the printer lays down a two-layer thin film of metal oxide that is approximately 4 nm thick.
It works with multiple liquid metals and metal alloys to control the composition of the metal oxide film. It is possible to lay down a stack of layered thin films by making multiple passes with the printer.
One surprising result: the printed films are transparent but have metallic properties. In fact, gold sticks to them. The resulting films are very robust, transparent, and conductive.
Authors: Minsik Kong, Pohang University of Science and Technology and North Carolina State University; Man Hou Vong, Omar Awartani and Michael D. Dickey, North Carolina State University; Mingyu Kwak, Ighyun Lim, Younghyun Lee and Unyong Jeong, Pohang University of Science and Technology; Seong-hun Lee, Jimin Kwon and Tae Joo Shin, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology; and Insang You, University of Waterloo
Note: At equilibrium, the oxide that forms on liquid metal is about 3 nm thick. When we print it, we form a bilayer that is 4 nm thick, which means that each layer is less than 3 nm .
มุมมอง: 3 817

วีดีโอ

Wearable sweat sensor patch
มุมมอง 4062 หลายเดือนก่อน
Researchers at NC State (led by Prof. Orlin Velev) are working on ways to extract sweat from the body as a way to do non-invasive biosensing. The soft, wearable patch consists of a hydrogel disc that uses osmosis to extract fluids from the skin. The fluids then pass through a paper microfluidic strip to reach a sensor, such as a colorimetric sensor that changes color in the presence of an analy...
Glassy Gels Toughened by Solvent
มุมมอง 42K4 หลายเดือนก่อน
Glassy polymers and gels are typically considered distinct classes of materials. Many plastics in our day-to-day life, such as a water bottle, are glassy polymers. They are stiff, strong, but often brittle. These mechanical properties arise due to interactions between polymer chains. They are called glassy because the polymers are "stuck"; that is, they cannot move easily. If you heat these mat...
Liquid metal tentacles that do NOT short circuit
มุมมอง 3K6 หลายเดือนก่อน
Researchers at University of Wollongong and NC State report liquid metal electrodes that do NOT short circuit. This work was published in Nature Chemical Engineering in an article titled, "Liquid-metal transfer from an anode to a cathode without short circuiting". www.nature.com/articles/s44286-024-00045-1 In this work, two electrodes are used: a liquid metal electrode ( ) and a Cu wire (-). Th...
Liquid Metal Hydrogels: Stretchable, conductive, self-healing, and easy to make!
มุมมอง 4047 หลายเดือนก่อน
Researchers at NC State and Sharif University of Technology report a hydrogel with several notable properties: 1. It forms without any conventional molecular initiator. We recently showed that liquid metal particles can initiate free-radical polymerization. Here, we help keep the particles suspended in water by coating them spontaneously with a coating of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs). pubs.acs...
Liquid metal injection molding
มุมมอง 2858 หลายเดือนก่อน
Researchers at NC State have demonstrated a way to pattern liquid metals via 'injection molding'. Conventional injection molding involves pumping molten polymer into a mold, cooling it, and then removing the solidified part. Here, the same concept can be used, but rather than use temperature to solidify the part, the metal maintains its injected shape due to a thin oxide shell that forms on the...
Liquid Metal Foams That GROW When Watered
มุมมอง 5718 หลายเดือนก่อน
Researchers at NC State and JBNU have demonstrated and studied liquid metal foams that can grow (both in size and mass) while maintaining conductivity. The materials can be printed from a nozzle (direct write printing). The foams form by simply stirring liquid metal. The stirring exposes the metal to oxygen, which results in reactions that create thin "oxide flakes" that get mixed into the liqu...
Liquid Metal Memory (Memristor)
มุมมอง 27010 หลายเดือนก่อน
Researchers at NC State University reported a memory device made entirely from soft materials. Commercial memory components found in computers are build from rigid materials. In contrast, the human brain uses soft materials. To create a soft memory device, the researchers created a "memristor", which can switch between two states: resistive and conductive. Those two states correspond to a "1" a...
Patterning of a High Surface Area Liquid Metal-Carbon Composite Film Using Laser Processing
มุมมอง 386ปีที่แล้ว
Researchers at NC State have reported a way to pattern high surface area stretchable conductors using a laser to sinter liquid metal particles together. Liquid metals are promising materials for stretchable electronics. Here, the liquid metal is first formed into particles via sonication and then spray cast onto a surface. What makes this work new and interesting is the inclusion of a polymer i...
3D and 4D Printing Metals at Room Temperature using Metallic Gels
มุมมอง 8Kปีที่แล้ว
Researchers at NC State University have created a way to print solid metals at room temperature using metallic gels that can be used for 4D printing. Four-dimensional (4D) printing refers to 3D printed structures that change shape with respect to time in response to an external stimulus. To date, 4D printing techniques have focused primarily on electrically insulating materials, such as polymer...
Self-healing E-Textiles
มุมมอง 3.4Kปีที่แล้ว
Researchers at NC State University have reported electronic textiles that can "autonomously heal" when cut. Textiles and fabrics that are electronically conductive are interesting for integrating electronics into a variety of places, such as clothing. Here, the textiles are coated with liquid metal particles, which adhere strongly to the fabric. When pressed with significant force, the particle...
A Soft Gripper with Granular Jamming and Electroadhesive Properties
มุมมอง 2.3Kปีที่แล้ว
Researchers at EPFL, The University of Electro-Communications (Japan), and NC State have created a versatile gripper by combining concepts of granular jamming and electroadhesion. Granular jamming uses a rubber sac with rigid grains (like sand or coffee grounds). When a vacuum is pulled on the sac, the rubber pulls the grains into close contact. This causes the grains to "jam" together and the ...
Acid Removes Oxide from Liquid Metal
มุมมอง 678ปีที่แล้ว
Liquid metals, such as eutectic gallium indium, form a very thin (~3 nm) oxide on its surface. This oxide layer is solid, similar to glass. It forms rapidly and creates a solid shell on the liquid. Acid (1 M HCl) can remove the oxide and causes the metal to "bead up" due to surface tension. The oxide allows the metal to be shaped into non-spherical shapes that are useful for a variety of applic...
Injecting Liquid Metal into Microfluidic Channels
มุมมอง 613ปีที่แล้ว
Liquid metal (here, eutectic gallium indium) can easily be injected into hollow cavities. Examples include hollow fibers, microfluidic channels, 3D printed cavities, etc. In this video, a syringe is placed against the inlet hole of a microfluidic channel and the metal is pushed through the channel, ultimately leaving at at outlet of the channel. Injection is interesting because: 1. Conventional...
Electrochemical Bubble Actuator
มุมมอง 2.1Kปีที่แล้ว
Researchers at NC State have created a soft actuator using bubbles created electrochemically. Soft actuators are of interest for mimicking muscle and for moving robotic components with soft mechanical properties (soft so they can complete complex tasks and interact safely with humans). Normally, these actuators consist of rubber chambers that get inflated like a balloon. The inflation requires ...
Magnetic Levitation for Energy Harvesting Using Superconductors
มุมมอง 3892 ปีที่แล้ว
Magnetic Levitation for Energy Harvesting Using Superconductors
Origami electronics using laser folding
มุมมอง 1.1K2 ปีที่แล้ว
Origami electronics using laser folding
Tough and stretchable ionogels
มุมมอง 12K2 ปีที่แล้ว
Tough and stretchable ionogels
Liquid Metal Magic: Hands free levitation and manipulation
มุมมอง 5K2 ปีที่แล้ว
Liquid Metal Magic: Hands free levitation and manipulation
Energy Harvesting Using Liquid Metals
มุมมอง 19K3 ปีที่แล้ว
Energy Harvesting Using Liquid Metals
Reversible Underwater Adhesion for Soft Robotic Feet Using Liquid Metal
มุมมอง 6253 ปีที่แล้ว
Reversible Underwater Adhesion for Soft Robotic Feet Using Liquid Metal
3D Printing of Liquid Metal Elastomer Composites (LME)
มุมมอง 1.2K3 ปีที่แล้ว
3D Printing of Liquid Metal Elastomer Composites (LME)
Dynamic Control of Reflective/Diffusive Optical Surfaces on Liquid Metal
มุมมอง 1.7K3 ปีที่แล้ว
Dynamic Control of Reflective/Diffusive Optical Surfaces on Liquid Metal
Liquid Metal Motor
มุมมอง 7K3 ปีที่แล้ว
Liquid Metal Motor
Jumping Liquid Metal Droplets
มุมมอง 9433 ปีที่แล้ว
Jumping Liquid Metal Droplets
Liquid Metal Streams the Size of a Hair: Overcoming Rayleigh Plateau Instabilities
มุมมอง 1.9K4 ปีที่แล้ว
Liquid Metal Streams the Size of a Hair: Overcoming Rayleigh Plateau Instabilities
Directed Assembly of Liquid Metal-Elastomer Conductors for Stretchable and Self‐Healing Electronics
มุมมอง 1.1K4 ปีที่แล้ว
Directed Assembly of Liquid Metal-Elastomer Conductors for Stretchable and Self‐Healing Electronics
Soft Luminescence Optical Filter
มุมมอง 4444 ปีที่แล้ว
Soft Luminescence Optical Filter
Materials tactile logic via innervated soft thermochromic elastomers
มุมมอง 1.2K5 ปีที่แล้ว
Materials tactile logic via innervated soft thermochromic elastomers
Shrink Films Get a Grip: Strong Thermoplastic Grippers
มุมมอง 4025 ปีที่แล้ว
Shrink Films Get a Grip: Strong Thermoplastic Grippers

ความคิดเห็น

  • @atharvakanojiya4398
    @atharvakanojiya4398 2 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I wonder how Elon musk would be jealous of this great invention 😂😂

  • @Weifeng-f3g
    @Weifeng-f3g 2 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I think it's an important work. But now I am not clear that that what role the liquid metal plays here.

  • @bashkillszombies
    @bashkillszombies 6 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Continuous electro wetting sounds like a dog electro shock collar used to discipline kids who wet the bed! D:

  • @ThisIsMyNewAlias
    @ThisIsMyNewAlias 6 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I guess it is not because it acts simply as a ressistor.

  • @FrankBurnham
    @FrankBurnham 6 หลายเดือนก่อน

    So, could we turn a turbine with the liquid and spin a wheel?

  • @simeonbetteridge5223
    @simeonbetteridge5223 6 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Nice. Thanks for the info.

  • @Toad_Burger
    @Toad_Burger 6 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Beside looking awesome, what are some use cases for the metal liquid transfer/grabbing? It's fascinating.

    • @Nico_Nico_Oh_No
      @Nico_Nico_Oh_No 6 หลายเดือนก่อน

      really cool slow acting switches. Immediate use I see is in something that might get temporary jumps in the voltage because of circuit instability but you absolutely must be sure it only triggers intentionally if there's current for a long time.

  • @myITguyShawnRatcliffe
    @myITguyShawnRatcliffe 6 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Powerpoint getting better lol

  • @maxinfly
    @maxinfly 6 หลายเดือนก่อน

    T-1000 The beginning

    • @simeonbetteridge5223
      @simeonbetteridge5223 6 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Is this a precursor of a future or some slop fed to us underlings to keep us dumb and backward, because, they already walk among us... JCona

  • @niculuca4798
    @niculuca4798 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

    O No purpouse engine

  • @Qeswara
    @Qeswara 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

    If it is mercury, it is a dangerous poison !!

  • @anadrollecter7102
    @anadrollecter7102 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I love your videos Michael. Please keep uploading!

  • @Olivia-jk2iy
    @Olivia-jk2iy 10 หลายเดือนก่อน

    this is so cool. what would be some use cases?

  • @장미향방구
    @장미향방구 ปีที่แล้ว

    Awesome 🎉

  • @CuervoBlack07
    @CuervoBlack07 ปีที่แล้ว

    A missed opportunity that they didn't name it Omni-Gel, like from Mass Effect.

  • @wirehyperspace
    @wirehyperspace ปีที่แล้ว

    it's so beautiful. / space program🦨

  • @nirodha7028
    @nirodha7028 ปีที่แล้ว

    Nice! Does the oxidization cause the metal droplet to slowly lose volume over the course of time or is this an indefinitely repeatable proces?

  • @LawrenceKincheloe
    @LawrenceKincheloe ปีที่แล้ว

    Interesting one shot actuation, but doesn't look reversible. Also, the conductor doesn't need to be gallium, it could be any conductive material, since the operation is electrolysis splitting of water in the hydrogel. Technically any oxygen scavenging material near the positive electrode would result in the same effect.

  • @srirams3275
    @srirams3275 ปีที่แล้ว

    In that Bubble. what consistency was there inside the bubble Metallic Oxide or Metallic electro gas or Hydrogen what gas it is?

  • @jackthehacker05
    @jackthehacker05 ปีที่แล้ว

    Very cool!

  • @filigenzilab9613
    @filigenzilab9613 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Is it possible that the hydrogel expands when an electric current is placed through it?

  • @LambareNg
    @LambareNg 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Very interesting

  • @AdityaMehendale
    @AdityaMehendale 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Wouldn't the same happen if you bounced a marble off a woofer? ..and you don't even need liquid nitrogen. Sure, a superconductor can be 'charged' to perhaps three to ten tesla instead of a subwoofer's 1.2 or 1.3; but still..

  • @VeillonShawn
    @VeillonShawn 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    we curse dr scott stanley for the music. UGH

  • @joeyhicks7738
    @joeyhicks7738 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Love it, it’s different. Do not get left behind - Promo>SM!!!

  • @daveluxton8317
    @daveluxton8317 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    As a material scientist I am always fascinated with these discoveries. Can this ionogel be made DIY ? (if you have the PAA and PAAm). I am guessing the ionic liquid is a common salt solution. So many applications for this material. Great work!

  • @paulneilson6117
    @paulneilson6117 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Nice one.

  • @Da-Sheek
    @Da-Sheek 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    I could see electric vehicles having this installed in the shock suspension system. Every little bump or vibration will send some charge back to the battery extending the total distance it can travel.

    • @Gentledutchman
      @Gentledutchman 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      One could do that with coils ... no?

    • @Da-Sheek
      @Da-Sheek 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@Gentledutchman That is the train of thought before any new technology is made. Nobody thought wireless charging was possible until a few years ago, same goes for everything else. Its better to be optimistic for future tech.

  • @marcoslaf
    @marcoslaf 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    this is amazing

  • @Gerdaldfighterkid
    @Gerdaldfighterkid 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    genius

  • @martin096
    @martin096 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    Each house should have these stretched across the road so as veichle passes it charges a battery in their home.

    • @bjondersson
      @bjondersson 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      Then you are just inefficiently converting (stealing) the cars’ energy to the household battery.

    • @martin096
      @martin096 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@bjondersson Wouldn't the car battery be losing energy if being driven any way? If driving over a small cable which doesn't need the person to slow down, I don't see how that would effect the car battery capacity. I'm no expert I'm just curious and would love to understand these things better. BTW have you seen those new cars which are able to self charge gaining a 150 mile range a week on sunny days. Pretty damn incredible 😮

    • @bjondersson
      @bjondersson 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@martin096So where are you suggesting the energy comes from? If you have a small cable that doesn’t seemingly effect the cars speed, then the energy harvested is minimal and probably useless in practice. Better to just put solar cells on the house roof.

    • @martin096
      @martin096 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@bjondersson Say for example then someone charged their car from the grid and they need to get from A to B. They will use electric in their vehicle to do that journey any way. Along the way that person drives over a bunch of small cables not really affecting their driving experience which charges up the battery of each home it passes by. The person in the car is happy because they've reached their destination without any problems and the home owners are happy because cars throughout the day have been driving over their cables and charging their battery to use during the evening. We live in a very busy city and get hundreds of cars pass throughout the day, I would love to test that. I suppose it all depends on how much energy you get from cars as they pass by. We are considering solar panels in the next couple years

    • @bjondersson
      @bjondersson 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@martin096 Energy does not appear from nowhere. You are literally transferring energy from the car to the cables on the road. Your thinking goes wrong when you think that the energy lost from the car is insignificant. You are then transferring an even less insignificant amount of energy to the cable, maybe 10% of that, or less, (rest will be heat). Then you assume that a lot of cars will add up to a significant amount of energy for the harvester. Think about it this way (I'm using imaginary numbers, just as an example): Assume all cars charge at the same charging station. Say that each car charges 10 kWh. A thousand cars will charge 10 000 kWh. That extra bump in the road from the cable will cause friction that makes each car loose 1 mWh. The thousand cars will drive over and cumulatively loose 1 Wh. Out of that you will harvest 0,1 Wh (100 mW). So now you have a system with which a thousand cars have transferred 0,1 Wh to your house from the charging station at the cost of 1 Wh paid by the drivers. For this you have to build a complex harvesting system that will have tear and high maintenance costs. It would be much cheaper and more efficient to just pull that energy directly from the electricity grid than by delivering it by car. Even if you ignore the fact that other drivers are paying your electricity, the maintenance costs would not warrant it. If you still don't get why this is not practical, have a friend in engineering or science explain it to you. I won't try to convince or explain any further.

  • @brandonwood8971
    @brandonwood8971 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    I wonder if they emptied a fish farm net then filled it up with these and launched a sea dragon out of it how much energy it would re-capture from all that pressure and movement the from the sea dragon launching in water filled with these

  • @peterlang777
    @peterlang777 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    liquid metal gallium earth batteries using galfenol nanoparticles

  • @peterlang777
    @peterlang777 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    I have been working on liquid metal earth batteries using gallium liquid metal since 2017. ones that can make energy from the microscopic (brownian) motion of water as well as macroscopic movements. this work is VERY similar!

    • @Gerdaldfighterkid
      @Gerdaldfighterkid 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      individual units? or would it be a large object scaled up

    • @peterlang777
      @peterlang777 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@Gerdaldfighterkid ultimately they would be in arrays like the spherical HS-TENG units.

    • @Gentledutchman
      @Gentledutchman 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      What, what ...??? Do tell !!! Any demonstrations? A TH-cam channel? More info please. Pretty please ...?

    • @peterlang777
      @peterlang777 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@Gentledutchman th-cam.com/users/peterlang777

  • @jiayiyang8599
    @jiayiyang8599 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    Great work!

    • @peterlang777
      @peterlang777 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      if you add galfenol nanoparticles to that gallim liquid metal it will be able to convert brownian motion of water not just macroscopic movement. I know because I have worked on this tech since 2017

    • @peterlang777
      @peterlang777 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      galfenol is a highly magnetostrictive alloy of iron and gallium developed by the USAF. it is triboelectric and ideal for addition to liquid metal energy harvesters

  • @alexanderwilliam9073
    @alexanderwilliam9073 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    Hi Prof. Michael Dickey, I have a question. How you manage to guide numerous students in your group? I went to ncsu website and your profile is interesting and make me wanna know how you handle it. I'm really curious, hope you can asnwer the question. TQ

  • @Masmix666
    @Masmix666 4 ปีที่แล้ว

    0:24 school-teens.online