Liquid Metal Interconnects: Enabling Next-Generation Elasticity in Wearable Hybrid Electronics*

This masterclass provides a materials-science perspective on gallium-based liquid metal inks as a route toward highly conductive, mechanically compliant, and printable soft electronics. The session focuses on how ink formulation governs viscosity, wetting behavior, substrate interaction, line formation, and electrical continuity. Particular emphasis is placed on polymer–solvent systems, liquid metal droplet morphology, oxide-mediated stabilization, and the process window for dispensing and screen printing. Prototype examples will illustrate how formulation and printing parameters translate into stretchable interconnects, soft sensors, textile-integrated interfaces, and interactive demonstrators. The masterclass concludes with a forward-looking discussion on how liquid metal inks could enable future soft human–machine interfaces, wearable systems, robotic skins, and adaptive electronic surfaces.