Liquid metal-based textiles for smart clothes

Abstract

The smart clothes emerge as a new generation of garments developed in the scientific and industrial communities, gaining increasing attention due to the real-time responses to exterior environments or stimuli. Owing to the unique merits of liquid metal (LM) such as excellent fluidity, high conductivity and intrinsic stretchability in ambient environment, LM-based smart textiles are widely applied in chemical sensors, wearable electronics and stretchable devices. This review is dedicated to summarizing different preparation methods and functions of LM-based textiles (LMTs) for smart clothes, which consists of the design principles, the fabrication strategies, the working mechanism of LMTs, and the tremendous applications sorted by the features of LM. Typical methods of the synthesis to build LMTs are divided into two domains classified by spatial arrangement. One strategy is the exterior decoration with LM, while the other is interior encapsulation of LM. Moreover, the primary applications of LMT-based smart clothes have been illustrated through the utilization of the properties of LM matrix. The categorization of LMTs aims to facilitate further investigation and research in the future development of LM-based smart clothes. Finally, future prospects and opportunities of LMT-based smart clothes are discussed in this area.