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Liquid-metal-based magnetic fluids

Nature Reviews Materials (2024)Cite this article

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Abstract

Magnetic fluids, suspensions of magnetic particles in carrier liquids like water, oil or organic solvents, combine magnetic properties with fluidity to achieve features such as rapid magnetic response, reversible viscosity, and tunable thermal and optical properties. However, these carriers tend to have low densities and boiling points, affecting the suspension stability and working temperature range of magnetic fluids. Using liquid metals — which have high densities, boiling points and chemical stability in addition to excellent conductivity — as the carrier liquid can not only overcome these issues but also make the resulting liquid-metal-based magnetic fluids (LMMFs) highly conductive, substantially expanding the functions of magnetic fluids. Furthermore, LMMFs behave in complex yet versatile ways owing to synergies between the electrical conduction of the liquid metal and the magnetism of the suspended particles. This Review provides a comprehensive overview of LMMFs, beginning with their fabrication methods and an interpretation of their suspension stability. We summarize the properties and applications of LMMFs, highlighting their superiority over traditional magnetic fluids. Finally, we discuss the challenges and prospects of these materials.

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Fig. 1: Fabrication methods and stability of liquid-metal-based magnetic fluids.
Fig. 2: Typical properties of liquid-metal-based magnetic fluids.
Fig. 3: Applications of liquid-metal-based magnetic fluids in biomedical engineering and thermal management.
Fig. 4: Applications of liquid-metal-based magnetic fluids in printing, patterning and flexible sensors.
Fig. 5: Applications of liquid-metal-based magnetic fluids in soft robotics.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China project nos. 51890893, 52076213 and 91748206; the Frontier Project of the Chinese Academy of Sciences; and the 2115 Talent Development Program of China Agricultural University. The authors thank M. Guo and J. Gao for help with drawing some of the images in this work.

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Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally: Wentao Xiang, Yongyu Lu.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Cryogenic Science and Technology, Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

    Wentao Xiang, Yongyu Lu & Jing Liu

  2. School of Future Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

    Wentao Xiang & Jing Liu

  3. Center of Double Helix, Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, Shenzhen, China

    Hongzhang Wang

  4. School of Engineering Medicine, Beihang University, Beijing, China

    Xuyang Sun

  5. Institute for Frontier Science, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing, China

    Sen Chen

  6. College of Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China

    Zhizhu He

  7. Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China

    Jing Liu

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All authors contributed to the discussion, writing and editing of the Review. Y.L., Z.H. and J.L. supervised the Review.

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Xiang, W., Lu, Y., Wang, H. et al. Liquid-metal-based magnetic fluids. Nat Rev Mater (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41578-024-00679-w

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