Self-Healing Soft Electronic Skin Reported in Nature Materials

We have introduced a method for creating electrical circuits that are soft, stretchable, and self-repairing. The material is composed of microscopic droplets of liquid metal (a eutectic alloy of gallium and indium; EGaIn) embedded in a soft silicone matrix. A scribe is used to selectively rupture the droplets and cause them to form electrically conductive pathways within the silicone. When the material is cut, torn, or punctured, droplets around the damaged area spontaneously rupture to form new conductive pathways.

This work was recently reported in Nature Materials and is now available online [publisher link]. You can also read more about this work at Phys.org [link] and the Washington Post [link].