Advances in liquid metal composites: properties, applications, and future prospects

HighlightsPost-transition LMs provide excellent opportunities for the construction of new composites with unprecedented properties. These LM-based composites take advantage of the low melting point, fluidity, and thermal and conductive properties of LMs.In general, two physical and chemical approaches are used for the fabrication of LM composites. While the former method mostly applies mechanical forces for mixing and downsizing LM particles, the latter method involves rapid chemical interactions between LMs and precursors.Functionalized LM composites can be designed for desired applications through the modification of the surface or bulk of LMs with various materials, including metal particles, MXenes, ligands, graphene, and 1D and 2D materials.Owing to their flexibility and conductivity, high reactivity, and biocompatibility, LM-based composites hold great potential to unlock numerous opportunities in soft electronics, sensing, and biotechnology.AbstractThe field of liquid metals (LMs), metals and alloys of low melting point made of post-transition metals, offers exciting prospects for the creation of remarkable composite materials. By providing a liquid state at low temperatures, LMs can act as primary components in conductive and flexible composites involving organic and inorganic materials. In this review, we present a succinct examination of LM-based composites and highlight their notable characteristics. We discuss the contributing factors of low melting points and exceptional thermal and electrical conductivities. Last, we showcase various types of composites utilizing LMs, elucidating their synthesis methods and applications in advanced technologies.