Electrical control of liquid metal amoeba with directional extension formation

Abstract

In this study, an electric field was used to regulate and control pseudopodia-like extensions of a liquid metal-Al (LM-Al) droplet in certain directions. The results suggest that in certain electric fields, the LM-Al droplets tend to generate extensions perpendicular to the electric field; the underlying mechanism arises from the specific surface tension imbalance induced by the electric field. The influence of varying electric field intensity and Al content on the LM-Al transformations was also evaluated; the LM-Al droplets displayed specific and distinct behaviors according to each experimental configuration; this further proved the feasibility of using electric fields for controlling LM-Al transformations. The entire study provides a promising and practical method for control of LM amoeba-like transformations, which are valuable for further development of soft robots and devices.