Multifunctional Liquid-Metal Composites for Electromagnetic Communication and Attenuation

Efficient and reliable information transmission is crucial in the widespread use of electronic products and wireless communication. Additionally, it is vital to address the electromagnetic interference (EMI) and radiation that arise from the communication process. In particular, the emergence of flexible electronic products has posed new hurdles for EM functional materials with flexibility and high performance. Liquid metal (LM) is an innovative EM functional material that possesses both the conductivity of metals and the fluidity to reconfigure like a liquid. These characteristics paved the way for developing novel flexible electronic devices and products. This review provides an overview of the current status and future potential of LM-based EM functional materials. It highlights the latest progress in LM-based materials for applications such as EMI shielding, EM-wave absorption, and wireless communication (antennas). Finally, the primary obstacles of LM-based EM functional materials are discussed and revealed potential directions for their advancement. Overall, the current research on LM-based EM functional materials indicates that they have great potential to promote the development of EM functional materials, thus providing new possibilities for the advancement of flexible electronic products.