A team of researchers from North Carolina State University (NCSU) created three-dimensional (3-D) printing technology and techniques using liquid metal to create standing structures, according to a news release.
"It's difficult to create structures out of liquids, because liquids want to bead up. But we've found that a liquid metal alloy of gallium and indium reacts to the oxygen in the air at room temperature to form a 'skin' that allows the liquid metal structures to retain their shapes," Dr. Michael Dickey, an assistant professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at NCSU and co-author of a paper describing the work, said in the release.
The research paper titled "3-D Printing of Free Standing Liquid Metal Microstructures," is published online in Advanced Materials. Researchers explained the processes in the following statement:
One technique involves stacking droplets of liquid metal on top of each other, much like a stack of oranges at the supermarket. The droplets adhere to one another, but retain their shape - they do not merge into a single, larger droplet.
Another technique injects liquid metal into a polymer template, so that the metal takes on a specific shape. The template is then dissolved, leaving the bare, liquid metal in the desired shape. The researchers also developed techniques for creating liquid metal wires, which retain their shape even when held perpendicular to the substrate.
The techniques used to create the printed 3-D structures also allow a connection to electronic components, according to the release. The research team wants to explore how to develop the techniques and how to use them in "various electronics applications."
"I'd also like to note that the work by an undergraduate, Collin Ladd, was indispensable to this project," Dickey said. "He helped develop the concept, and literally created some of this technology out of spare parts he found himself."
Check out the video below to see the researchers' developments.
