Handschuh-Wang Stephan, Chen Yuzhen, Zhu Lifei, Zhou Xuechang
College of Chemistry and Environmental Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, P. R. China.
Chemphyschem. 2018 Jul 5;19(13):1584-1592. doi: 10.1002/cphc.201800129. Epub 2018 Apr 17.
Room-temperature gallium-based liquid metals (e. g. Galinstan) are emerging materials for a wide range of applications spanning from soft robotics to a medium for running chemical reactions. However, Galinstan suffers from rapid oxide formation at the surface, limiting its application. Similarly, this surface oxidation renders it difficult to determine the surface free energy of Galinstan. Herein, the interfacial properties of Galinstan in contact with argon, acid, base, water, and organic solvents were investigated, yielding kinetic information regarding the removal by acids and bases, knowledge about oxo-hydroxide/hydroxide species at the Galinstan/water interface, and an estimated value of the dispersive contribution of the surface free energy. The dispersive contribution of the surface free energy of Galinstan was calculated to be (239.7±9.1) mN/m, around 40 % of the total surface free energy. By employing the dispersive surface tension of Galinstan, the interfacial tension between a liquid and Galinstan can be easily obtained, facilitating the design and application of liquid metal-based devices.
室温镓基液态金属（例如镓铟锡合金）是一类新兴材料，广泛应用于从软体机器人到化学反应媒介等诸多领域。然而，镓铟锡合金表面会迅速形成氧化物，限制了其应用。同样，这种表面氧化使得确定镓铟锡合金的表面自由能变得困难。在此，研究了镓铟锡合金与氩气、酸、碱、水和有机溶剂接触时的界面性质，得出了有关酸和碱去除情况的动力学信息、关于镓铟锡合金/水界面处氧氢氧化物/氢氧化物种类的知识，以及表面自由能色散贡献的估计值。计算得出镓铟锡合金表面自由能的色散贡献为(239.7±9.1) mN/m，约占总表面自由能的40%。通过利用镓铟锡合金的色散表面张力，可以轻松获得液体与镓铟锡合金之间的界面张力，有助于基于液态金属的器件的设计和应用。
