# Gallium liquid metals: a metal you can pour, print and stretch

> Gallium alloys such as EGaIn and Galinstan are liquid near room temperature yet conduct like metals. A nanometres-thin oxide skin lets them hold printed shapes, so they become wires that stretch, composites that heal a cut and liquid surfaces for chemistry. Drawn as one serpentine liquid-metal wire whose loops carry the story.

- Page: https://www.labcanvas.com/templates/graphical-abstracts/gallium-liquid-metals-metal-you-can-pour-print-stretch
- Open in the LabCanvas editor (LabCanvas account): https://www.labcanvas.com/editor.html?template=liquid-metals-gallium-serpentine-wire
- Updated: 2026-10-14
- Category: Graphical abstracts
- Method: Graphical abstract
- Starting materials: Gallium alloyed with indium (EGaIn) or with indium and tin (Galinstan)
- Product: Liquid conductors patterned into stretchable wires, self-healing composites and reactive surfaces
- Key result: Oxide skin 0.7–3 nm, 1000% strain, 2 µm lines (Xu et al. 2022); CO₂ reduction onset −310 mV vs CO₂/C (Esrafilzadeh et al. 2019)
- Figure: 1920 × 1080 px, 85 editable layers

## Steps

1. **A metal that pours**: EGaIn is a conductive liquid at room temperature (Bark & Lee 2021); gallium liquid metals are deformable yet metallic, with low toxicity and essentially no vapour pressure, unlike mercury (Dickey 2017)
2. **A skin that holds a shape**: The oxide shell, usually 0.7–3 nm thick (Xu et al. 2022), lets the metal be injected into channels or 3D printed instead of beading up (Dickey 2017)
3. **Wires that stretch**: Sealed in elastomer, patterned liquid-metal circuits reached 1000% tensile strain; lines down to 2 µm wide (Xu et al. 2022)
4. **Circuits that heal**: Droplets in an elastomer rupture where it is damaged and re-route the current, without repair or heat (Markvicka et al. 2018)
5. **Chemistry on the surface**: CO₂ reduced to solid carbon at room temperature on a cerium-containing liquid metal (Esrafilzadeh et al. 2019); subnanometre HfO₂, Al₂O₃ and Gd₂O₃ from the self-limiting surface oxide (Zavabeti et al. 2017)

## Uses

- Graphical abstracts on liquid metals and soft electronics
- Talks on stretchable and self-healing conductors
- Teaching how an oxide skin changes a liquid

## References

1. Dickey, “Stretchable and Soft Electronics using Liquid Metals”, Adv. Mater. 2017. https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.201606425 (review)
2. Xu et al., “Liquid Metal Based Nano-Composites for Printable Stretchable Electronics”, Sensors 2022. https://doi.org/10.3390/s22072516 (review)
3. Bark & Lee, “Surface modification of liquid metal as an effective approach for deformable electronics and energy devices”, Chem. Sci. 2021. https://doi.org/10.1039/d0sc05310d (review)
4. Markvicka et al., “An autonomously electrically self-healing liquid metal-elastomer composite for robust soft-matter robotics and electronics”, Nat. Mater. 2018. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-018-0084-7 (primary)
5. Esrafilzadeh et al., “Room temperature CO2 reduction to solid carbon species on liquid metals featuring atomically thin ceria interfaces”, Nat. Commun. 2019. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-08824-8 (primary)
6. Zavabeti et al., “A liquid metal reaction environment for the room-temperature synthesis of atomically thin metal oxides”, Science 2017. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aao4249 (primary)

Credit: Drawn by LabCanvas after Dickey, Adv. Mater. 2017 (doi:10.1002/adma.201606425); Xu et al., Sensors 2022 (doi:10.3390/s22072516); Markvicka et al., Nat. Mater. 2018 (doi:10.1038/s41563-018-0084-7); Esrafilzadeh et al., Nat. Commun. 2019 (doi:10.1038/s41467-019-08824-8); Zavabeti et al., Science 2017 (doi:10.1126/science.aao4249).

## Questions

**What does the “Gallium liquid metals: a metal you can pour, print and stretch” template show?** Gallium alloys such as EGaIn and Galinstan are liquid near room temperature yet conduct like metals. A nanometres-thin oxide skin lets them hold printed shapes, so they become wires that stretch, composites that heal a cut and liquid surfaces for chemistry. Drawn as one serpentine liquid-metal wire whose loops carry the story.

**What are the steps shown in “Gallium liquid metals: a metal you can pour, print and stretch”?** 1. A metal that pours: EGaIn is a conductive liquid at room temperature (Bark & Lee 2021); gallium liquid metals are deformable yet metallic, with low toxicity and essentially no vapour pressure, unlike mercury (Dickey 2017). 2. A skin that holds a shape: The oxide shell, usually 0.7–3 nm thick (Xu et al. 2022), lets the metal be injected into channels or 3D printed instead of beading up (Dickey 2017). 3. Wires that stretch: Sealed in elastomer, patterned liquid-metal circuits reached 1000% tensile strain; lines down to 2 µm wide (Xu et al. 2022). 4. Circuits that heal: Droplets in an elastomer rupture where it is damaged and re-route the current, without repair or heat (Markvicka et al. 2018). 5. Chemistry on the surface: CO₂ reduced to solid carbon at room temperature on a cerium-containing liquid metal (Esrafilzadeh et al. 2019); subnanometre HfO₂, Al₂O₃ and Gd₂O₃ from the self-limiting surface oxide (Zavabeti et al. 2017).

**What are the starting materials and the product?** Starting materials: Gallium alloyed with indium (EGaIn) or with indium and tin (Galinstan). Product: Liquid conductors patterned into stretchable wires, self-healing composites and reactive surfaces.

**Which papers is “Gallium liquid metals: a metal you can pour, print and stretch” based on?** Dickey, “Stretchable and Soft Electronics using Liquid Metals”, Adv. Mater. 2017 (doi:10.1002/adma.201606425); Xu et al., “Liquid Metal Based Nano-Composites for Printable Stretchable Electronics”, Sensors 2022 (doi:10.3390/s22072516); Bark & Lee, “Surface modification of liquid metal as an effective approach for deformable electronics and energy devices”, Chem. Sci. 2021 (doi:10.1039/d0sc05310d); Markvicka et al., “An autonomously electrically self-healing liquid metal-elastomer composite for robust soft-matter robotics and electronics”, Nat. Mater. 2018 (doi:10.1038/s41563-018-0084-7); Esrafilzadeh et al., “Room temperature CO2 reduction to solid carbon species on liquid metals featuring atomically thin ceria interfaces”, Nat. Commun. 2019 (doi:10.1038/s41467-019-08824-8); Zavabeti et al., “A liquid metal reaction environment for the room-temperature synthesis of atomically thin metal oxides”, Science 2017 (doi:10.1126/science.aao4249).

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