镓基液态金属的结构与物性

Structure and physical properties of gallium-based liquid metal

镓基液态金属由于其良好的流动性以及高导电导热性,在室温范围内展现出许多与固态金属材料不同的性质,也突破了固态金属无法实现的一些瓶颈,在柔性器件、软体机器人等方面展现巨大的应用前景。镓基液态金属的特殊物性与其原子结构、键价关系、电子性质等密切关联。深入理解镓基液态金属的基本结构与物性,对研究和应用液态金属材料有着重要意义。文章从液态金属的微观原子结构着手,综述了研究液态金属基本物性的常用理论和分析方法,并以此剖析了镓基液态金属最引人关注的一些性质,最后对液态金属物性研究及扩展其应用领域的可能方向进行了探讨。

Gallium(Ga)-based liquid metals(LMs),due to their goodfluidity and high electrical/thermal conductivity,yield many attractive room-temperature properties different from solid metal materials and even overcome some bottlenecks that solid metal cannot reach.Therefore,Ga-LMs exhibit great application prospects inflexible devices,soft robots,and others.The unique physical properties of Ga-LMs are closely related to their atomic structures,bonding,and valence relationship,as well as their electronic properties.An in-depth understanding of the basic structure and physical properties of Ga-LMs is of great significance for the research and application of liquid metal materials.In this review,we briefly introduce the theories and analytical methods commonly used for studying the basic physical properties of liquid metal,through the aspect of the microscopic atomic structure.Accordingly,some most attractive properties of Ga-LMs are reviewed and discussed.Finally,the opportunities and challenges for the study and application of LMs are discussed as well.