Just one week after announcing a breakthrough nanotechnology material, RMIT University scientists have created droplets of liquid metal coated in nanoparticles, which they claim will advance research into soft electronics and industrial sensing technology. Scientists at RMIT’s Platform Technologies Research Institute developed “liquid metal marbles” by using functional nanoparticles as a semi-solid coating on liquid metals. Lead investigator Dr Vijay Sivan said the marbles – which are like flexible ball bearings – were developed as part of investigations into flexible conductive systems for electronic and electromagnetic units. He told CIO, they had the potential to be used in flexible electronic devices, such as stretchable interconnects for elastic electronic surfaces as well as reconfigurable wires and antennas. Manufacturers such as Samsung have already developed stretchable displays. The non-stick, durable liquid metal marbles overcome the limitations of liquid metals and enable scientists to use powder coating materials from insulating to semiconducting and highly conducting, Dr Sivan said. “The idea of building liquid electronics based on liquid metal marbles is unique, as they can not only move and form makeshift electronic devices, they can also produce strong plasmonic fields around them,” he said. “For sensing applications, these marbles are the safest alternative to mercury-based heavy metal ion sensors, while their thermal conduction properties are also fascinating, and should be further investigated.” Sivan said the marbles can “endure high impacts and temperatures without disintegrating, can operate like semiconducting systems, and are compatible with micro and nano-fluidic systems. Sivan said that when solid metal is used in a “flexible electronic environment” it becomes damaged and disintegrates. However, liquid metal “actually self-heals” making it suitable to use in flexible electronic devices in the future. The discovery follows news earlier this week that a separate RMIT research team – working with scientists from the CSIRO – created a new two-dimensional nano-material that may help manufacturers create even smaller computing devices that offer significant improvements in processing speed. Related content BrandPost The future of trust—no more playing catch up Broadcom: 2023 Tech Trends That Transform IT By Eric Chien, Director of Security Response, Symantec Enterprise Division, Broadcom Mar 31, 2023 5 mins Security BrandPost TCS gives Blackhawk Network an edge with Microsoft Cloud In this case study, Blackhawk Network’s Cara Renfroe joins Tata Consultancy Services’ Rakesh Kumar and Microsoft’s Nilendu Pattanaik to explain how TCS transformed the gift card company’s customer engagement and global operati By Tata Consultancy Services Mar 31, 2023 1 min Financial Services Industry Cloud Computing IT Leadership BrandPost How TCS pioneered the ‘borderless workspace’ with Microsoft 365 Microsoft’s modern workplace solution proved a perfect fit for improving productivity and collaboration, while maintaining security of systems and data. By Tata Consultancy Services Mar 31, 2023 1 min Financial Services Industry Microsoft Cloud Computing BrandPost Supply chain decarbonization: The missing link to net zero By improving the quality of global supply chain data, enterprises can better measure their true carbon footprint and make progress toward a net-zero business ecosystem. By Tata Consultancy Services Mar 31, 2023 2 mins Retail Industry Supply Chain Green IT Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe