3D Printing of Self-Healing Metal for Resilient, Eco-Friendly Flexible Electronics

Metallic materials are essential for all electronic circuits. On-demand, rapid designing and realization of 3D printed metal structures could open new applications for wireless devices, especially in flexible electronics. Coupled with self-healing, such metal structures could be used in resilient, eco-friendly circuits to be manufactured. Current direct ink writing uses composite inks with generally low electrical conductivity. Many 3D printing processes also require support materials for generating 3D structures. In my talk, I will present a new 3D printing process that uses only tensional forces without pressure to extrude a low melting point metal such as Field’s metal. Our approach can enable printing of various free-standing 3D structures without any post-treatments to enhance conductivity. Our printed Field’s metal structures can reach electrical conductivities of 2 × 10⁴ S cm⁻¹. We demonstrate wireless devices that can monitor vital signs and 3D metamaterials for electromagnetic-wave manipulation. The devices can easily be self-healed and repaired when mechanical damage occurs, opening new possibilities to design electronics for sustainable and recyclable usage.