Gallium-Based Liquid Metals and Their Hybrids As Smart Electronic Materials
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
University of Wollongong Research Online University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 2017+ University of Wollongong Thesis Collections 2018 Gallium-based liquid metals and their hybrids as smart electronic materials Long Ren University of Wollongong Follow this and additional works at: https://ro.uow.edu.au/theses1 University of Wollongong Copyright Warning You may print or download ONE copy of this document for the purpose of your own research or study. The University does not authorise you to copy, communicate or otherwise make available electronically to any other person any copyright material contained on this site. You are reminded of the following: This work is copyright. Apart from any use permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part of this work may be reproduced by any process, nor may any other exclusive right be exercised, without the permission of the author. Copyright owners are entitled to take legal action against persons who infringe their copyright. A reproduction of material that is protected by copyright may be a copyright infringement. A court may impose penalties and award damages in relation to offences and infringements relating to copyright material. Higher penalties may apply, and higher damages may be awarded, for offences and infringements involving the conversion of material into digital or electronic form. Unless otherwise indicated, the views expressed in this thesis are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the University of Wollongong. Recommended Citation Ren, Long, Gallium-based liquid metals and their hybrids as smart electronic materials, Doctor of Philosophy thesis, Institute for Superconducting and Electronic Materials, University of Wollongong, 2018. https://ro.uow.edu.au/theses1/520 Research Online is the open access institutional repository for the University of Wollongong. For further information contact the UOW Library: [email protected] Gallium-based liquid metals and their hybrids as smart electronic materials Long Ren, M.Sc. Supervisors: Yi Du, Dr.; Shi Xue Dou, Prof.; Xun Xu, Dr. This thesis is presented as part of the requirement for the conferral of the degree: DOCTOR of PHILOSOPHY Institute for Superconducting and Electronic Materials Australian Institute of Innovative Materials Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences University of Wollongong, NSW, Australia November, 2018 Copyright © by Long Ren All Rights Reserved Abstract Abstract The re-emergence of room temperature liquid metals presents a forgotten exciting paradigm for an ideal combination of metallic and fluidic properties. The very unique fluid metal features of non- hazardous Ga-based liquid metals, including high surface energy, low viscosity, unlimited malleability, a wide temperature range of the liquid state, and desirable chemical activity for many applications, have been leading to remarkable possibilities and potentials for harnessing their properties and functionalities. The realization of stimulus-responsivity and multi-functionality makes Ga-based liquid metals a new family of “smart materials” – be regarded as the basis of multitudinous applications in frontiers covering from material science to engineering and medicine. Constructing hybrids of Ga-based liquid metals with other functional materials or groups can further extend this field-responsive capacity to incredible levels. An increasing number of reports on liquid metals have been published and revealed the abilities or activities of Ga-based liquid metals, as well as their alloys and constructed hybrids, as soft smart-response materials. However, development and systematic study of novel stimulus-responsive properties and the related unexplored application are still highly lacking. Three different stimulus-responsive behaviors and the corresponding potential application with liquid metal-based nanodroplets and hybrids were studied in this doctoral thesis. For the first work, we reported a green and facile synthesis of the liquid metal nanoparticle by sonication liquid bulk sample in a thiol solution, which can be used as printing inks. Each liquid metal particle in the ink was protected by the oxide layer, which can be broken by external pressure. By using these liquid metal nanoparticle based inks, stretchable and flexible electronic devices have been fabricated and demonstrated on polydimethylsiloxane and polyethylene terephthalate plastic substrate by direct printing and laser etching. A continues and conductive thin film and path with defined micro- or nano- size can be obtained by applying localized pressure on the LM particles. For the second work, we further investigated the temperature dependence electric and magnetic properties of the liquid metal constructed electronics. It was found that, below 6.6 K, the as-prepared liquid metal-based conductive electronics were superconductive and diamagnetic. A series of Ga- based liquid metals and corresponding nanodroplets, thus, have been developed to fabricate flexible i Abstract superconducting micro/nanoelectronics by direct printing. Those nanoparticles retain their bulk superconducting properties and can be dispersed and stored in various solvents, including ethanol, acetone, and water. By using these dispersions as inks, stretchable and flexible superconductive devices, including microsize superconducting coils, electric circuits, and superconducting electrodes, have been fabricated and demonstrated on the substrate by direct handwriting, inject printing and laser engraving. Based on the first two works, it can be found that the Ga-based liquid metals and their nanoparticles are ideal conductive materials for building flexible electronics. Nevertheless, simply developing soft conductive matter is not the panacea for all the mechanical-mismatch induced challenges in electronics, especially for biosystems that displaying highly diverse combinations of mechanical properties. To smartly match the mechanical features of the targeted specific area, we developed liquid metal-based magnetoactive slurries by dispersing ferromagnetic particles in a Ga- based liquid metal matrix. Besides the benefits from the combination of conductivity and deformability, the stiffness and viscosity of the materials system designed here can be reversibly altered and subtly controlled within a very short time and over a wide range in response to the magnetic field applied. In summary, these demonstrated Ga-based liquid metals and their hybrids make the Ga-based liquid metals promising to build multi-functional electronics for the varying field with different requirements, as a smart electric system which can be controlled by the external field applied. ii Acknowledgements Acknowledgements I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to my principal supervisor, Dr. Yi Du. During the past three years, Dr. Du created a free and warm work atmosphere which encouraged me to extend my horizons and develop my potential. Apart from his great support on my research work, Dr. Du also provided me various opportunities to participate international competitions and nominated me as different awards. High tribute shall be paid to my co-supervisor, distinguished Prof. Shixue Dou. At the beginning of my PhD application in ISEM, Prof. Dou provided me with great support and guided me during the application process. I would like to thank Dr. Xun Xu, who is also my co-supervisor, provided me great support on my research work. Prof. Dou and Dr. Xu usually gave valuable suggestion and guidance on carrying out experiments and analysis the data, which gave me great benefits and inspirations. I really appreciate this special and valuable experience. My sincere thanks to Prof. Lei Jiang, Prof. Xiaolin Wang, Prof. Weichang Hao, Prof. Weihua Li, Prof. Jianxin Zhong, Prof. Xiang Qi, Prof. Jun Chen, Prof. Jianping Yang, A/Prof. Germanas Peleckis, A/Prof. Juan Xiong, A/Prof. Zhongjun Cheng, Dr. Yunxiao Wang, Dr. Khay Wai See, who gave me a lot of help in my primary research studies. A big thanks to my colleagues, including Dr. Jincheng Zhuang, Dr. Haifeng Feng, Dr. Amar Al- Keisy, Dr. Li Wang, Dr. Yuqing Liu, Dr. Zhongfei Xu, Dr. Shuaishuai Sun, Mr. Binwei Zhang, Miss Dandan Cui, Mr. Liang Wang, Miss Ningyan Cheng, Miss Yani Liu, Miss Guyue Bo, Dr. Nana Wang, Dr. Zhongchao Bai, Miss Nana Liu, Miss Lijuan Zhang, and Mr. Weihong Lai, for their support and encouragement in finishing some difficult experiments, as well as the pleasant times spent with them. I would like to express my sincere thanks to Dr. David Mitchell, Dr Gilberto Casillas Garcia Dr. Tony Romeo, and Dr. Mitchell Nancarrow for the help on characterization and training on test equipment, Prof. Will Price, Mrs. Crystal Mahfouz, Mrs. Narelle Badger, and Mrs. Naomi Davies for administrative support, and Mrs. Joanne George and Dr. Candace Gabelish for procurement and safety related support. I am grateful to Mr. Robert Morgan and Mr. Mathew Davies for providing vital timely mechanical workshop support on the fabrication of devices. I would also like to thank Dr. Tania Silver for the revision of my manuscripts and thesis. iii Acknowledgements Finally, my family, including my wife (Dr. Yundan Liu), my parents (Mr. Qingming Ren and Mrs. Jing’e Li), my parents-in-law (Mr. Chuanai Liu and Mrs. Wanheng Li), my sister (Mrs. Liqiong Ren) and her husband (Mr. Huaqing Liu) deserve special thanks. The author is grateful for financial support from Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Projects (DP160102627 and DP170101467) and a BUAA-UOW Joint Research