Dynamic Electric Discharge Paths in Liquid Metal Marble Arrays.

Electric discharge occurs ubiquitously in both natural and engineered systems, where the discharge paths provide critical information. However, control and visualization of discharge patterns is a challenging task. Here arrays of liquid metal marbles, droplets of a gallium-indium eutectic alloy with a copper-doped ZnS luminescent coating, are designed for pixelated visualization of electric discharge paths at optical imaging length-scales.

The atomic intelligence of liquid metals.

Liquid metals may deliver greener and more sustainable chemical reactions.

Dynamic configurations of metallic atoms in the liquid state for selective propylene synthesis.

The use of liquid gallium as a solvent for catalytic reactions has enabled access to well-dispersed metal atoms configurations, leading to unique catalytic phenomena, including activation of neighbouring liquid atoms and mobility-induced activity enhancement. To gain mechanistic insights into liquid metal catalysts, here we introduce a GaSnNi liquid alloy for selective propylene synthesis from decane. Owing to their mobility, dispersed atoms in a Ga matrix generate configurations where interfacial Sn and Ni atoms allow for critical alignments of reactants and intermediates.

Polyphenol-Mediated Liquid Metal Composite Architecture for Solar Thermoelectric Generation.

The development of advanced solar energy technologies, which efficiently convert solar energy to heat and then to electricity, remains a significant challenge in the pursuit of clean energy production. Here, this challenge is addressed by designing a photothermal absorber composed of liquid gallium particles and a natural polyphenol-based coordination ink. The design of this composite takes advantage of the tuneable light absorption properties of the polyphenol inks and can also be applied onto flexible substrates.

Low Temperature Nano Mechano-electrocatalytic CH Conversion.

Transforming natural resources to energy sources, such as converting CH to H and carbon, at high efficiency and low cost is crucial for many industries and environmental sustainability. The high temperature requirement of CH conversion regarding many of the current methods remains a critical bottleneck for their practical uptake. Here we report an approach based on gallium (Ga) liquid metal droplets, Ni(OH) cocatalysts, and mechanical energy input that offers low-temperature and scalable CH conversion into H and carbon.

Liquid-Metal-Enabled Mechanical-Energy-Induced CO Conversion.

A green carbon capture and conversion technology offering scalability and economic viability for mitigating CO emissions is reported. The technology uses suspensions of gallium liquid metal to reduce CO into carbonaceous solid products and O at near room temperature. The nonpolar nature of the liquid gallium interface allows the solid products to instantaneously exfoliate, hence keeping active sites accessible.

Nanotip Formation from Liquid Metals for Soft Electronic Junctions.

Liquid metals and alloys with high-aspect-ratio nanodimensional features are highly sought-after for emerging electronic applications. However, high surface tension, water-like fluidity, and the existence of self-limiting oxides confer specific peculiarities to their characteristics. Here, we introduce a high accuracy nanometric three-dimensional pulling and stretching method to fabricate liquid-metal-based nanotips from room- or near-room-temperature gallium-based alloys.

A fast-response and highly specific Si-Rhodamine probe for endogenous peroxynitrite detection in living cells.

Peroxynitrite (ONOO-) is involved in a variety of physiological and pathological processes. We designed and synthesized a fluorescent probe SiNH based on Si-rhodamine. The nanoprobe SiNH encapsulated within the amphiphilic copolymer exhibited fast response within 10 s, and it was highly specific for ONOO- in aqueous solution.

Rational design of a fast and selective near-infrared fluorescent probe for targeted monitoring of endogenous nitric oxide.

The real-time monitoring of nitric oxide (NO) at the subcellular level is still a great challenge. To attain this goal, we developed a fast and selective near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent probe for the targeted tracing of endogenous NO. This probe possesses vital features for the real-time detection of intracellular NO including a significant turn-on NIR response, high specificity, and a fast response by a controlled photoinduced electron transfer (PET) process, which is applicable to the real-time monitoring of endogenous NO in mitochondria.