EGaIn-based liquid-metal electrodes for electronic interfaces and contact engineering.

Authors

Gyeong Seop Kim, Ho Yun Lee, Mileu Bang, Sungchul Mun, Young Tack Lee, Bo-In Park, Ji-Hoon Kang

Published in

iScience. Volume 29. Issue 10. Pages 117626. Oct 16, 2026. Epub Sep 24, 2026.

Abstract

Liquid metals offer a unique combination of metallic conductivity and fluid-like deformability, but their practical implementation as electrodes requires precise control over dynamic and chemically active interfaces. This review examines eutectic gallium-indium (EGaIn) as a representative gallium-based liquid metal and analyzes how its native oxide skin, wetting behavior, reactive alloying, and contact mechanics govern electrical contact formation, interfacial stability, and device integration. Across electronic interfaces, bioelectrode systems, and semiconductor contacts, recent studies show that oxide engineering, interfacial chemistry, mechanical confinement, controlled activation, self-packaging, and low-damage metallization can transform liquid metals from soft conductors into reliable interface materials. These strategies enable conformal printed electrodes, stretchable and leakage-resistant interconnects, implantable and dry bioelectrodes, and low-thermal-budget contacts for fragile electronic materials. By organizing these advances within a unified interface-engineering framework, this review highlights the potential of liquid-metal electrodes as adaptive, programmable, and quantitatively controllable interfacial platforms for next-generation electronic and bioelectronic systems.

PMID:
42830940
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 05 Oct 2026.

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