Noncovalent Interaction Assisted Assembly and Manipulation of Liquid Metals in Supramolecular Polymers

Gallium-based liquid metals (LMs) are an emerging class of materials which possess a conductive liquid interface with access to free ions and electrons that offer extraordinary potential for electronic, mechanical, catalytic, and biomedical applications. Unlike conventional solid additives, the fluidic LMs are capable of deforming and reconfiguring under stress in response to external stimuli applied to the polymer composites. However, there are two critical issues for most LM-polymer composites: (1) LMs could not form high-quality percolation pathways with many elastomers through solution processing; (2) LMs network would be severely damaged when high strains are applied on the composites.In this project, we propose that supramolecular polymers with well-designed backbone and noncovalent bonding motifs could have enhanced interactions with the gallium oxide layer of the LMs and thus ensure the mechanical modulation of the LM-polymer composites in a wide range. Two sets of oligomers would be synthesized for the fabrication of supramolecular LM-polymer composites. The molecular mechanism on the manipulation of LMs in supramolecular polymers would be systematically studied. We expect that the dynamic nature of supramolecular network and the fluidity of LMs would bring synergistic effect on the manipulation of the LM-polymer composites. The outcome of this project will not only advance our fundamental understanding on the molecular engineering of supramolecular polymers, but also provide new insights into the design of LM-polymer composites which will benefit their potential applications in robotics, flexible electronics, and biomedical applications.