Recent Progress for Gallium-Based Liquid Metal in Smart Wearable Textiles

The development of smart textiles has presentend new requirements for integrated devices that can be compatible with both conductivity and deformation. At room temperature, liquid metal presents both metallic properties and flexible properties, as well as low toxicity and biocompatible, which makes it more and more popular on the research of liquid metal based electronic devices. This review summarizes the basic physical properties, and the key points to be fabricated into fibers and fabrics including oxides and wettability. Meantime, the application in the field of textiles is presented. Liquid metal based electrical conductive fibers and flexible sensors can be fabricated mainly by injection and printing, as well as direct-writing for smart fabrics. Liquid metal can be integrated as functional components for smart wearable devices in the future by assembling the as-prepared fibers and fabrics with textile technology, such as twisting, sewing, knitting, and embroidering.