Imbibition-induced selective wetting of liquid metal.

ABSTRACT: Herein, we present the imbibition-induced, spontaneous, and selective wetting characteristics of gallium-based liquid metal alloys on a metallized surface with micro-scale topographical features. Gallium-based liquid metal alloys are fascinating materials that have enormous surface tension; therefore, they are difficult to pattern into films. The complete wetting of eutectic alloy of gallium and indium is realized on microstructured copper surfaces in the presence of HCl vapor, which removes the native oxide from the liquid metal alloy. This wetting is numerically explained based on the Wenzel's model and imbibition process, revealing that the dimensions of the microstructures are critical for effective imbibition-driven wetting of the liquid metal. Further, we demonstrate that the spontan

SUBMITTER: Kim JH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9376080 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature