Divide and Conquer: Design of Gallium-Based Liquid Metal Particles for Soft and Stretchable Electronics

Gallium-based liquid metal (LM) has attracted considerable attention as a promising material for stretchable conductors due to its remarkable combination of deformability and metallic conductivity. However, LM inherently faces challenges such as high surface tension, resistance increase, electrical failure due to leakage, and limited mechanical stability. Recently, researchers have explored the concept of "dividing" bulk LM into microparticles (LMP) as a means of addressing these limitations. Nonetheless, the fabrication of LMP results in inherent electrical insulation, requiring additional activation steps to enable their use as stretchable conductors. In this review, the potential of LMP is discussed as an alternative to bulk LM and explore various methods to generate stable LMP-based conductors and electrically activate LMP for their implementation in soft and stretchable electronics.