A Facile Hydrothermal Synthesis and Resistive Switching Behavior of α-Fe2O3 Nanowire Arrays.

A facile hydrothermal process has been developed to synthesize the α-Fe2O3 nanowire arrays with a preferential growth orientation along the [110] direction. The W/α-Fe2O3/FTO memory device with the nonvolatile resistive switching behavior has been achieved. The resistance ratio (RHRS/RLRS) of the W/α-Fe2O3/FTO memory device exceeds two orders of magnitude, which can be preserved for more than 103s without obvious decline. Furthermore, the carrier transport properties of the W/α-Fe2O3/FTO memory device are dominated by the Ohmic conduction mechanism in the low resistance state and trap-controlled space-charge-limited current conduction mechanism in the high resistance state, respectively. The partial formation and rupture of conducting nanofilaments modified by the intrinsic oxygen vacancies have been suggested to be responsible for the nonvolatile resistive switching behavior of the W/α-Fe2O3/FTO memory device. This work suggests that the as-prepared α-Fe2O3 nanowire-based W/α-Fe2O3/FTO memory device may be a potential candidate for applications in the next-generation nonvolatile memory devices.

Ultrastretchable Liquid Metal Electrical Conductors Built-in Cloth Fiber Networks for Wearable Electronics.

Flexible, stretchable, and wearable electrically conductive elements were prepared by coating partially oxidized liquid metals (POLMs) on cloth material, i.e., nylon lycra fabric (NLF, see details in the Supporting Information), which were achieved by filling POLMs in fiber networks. The products show good and stable electrically conductive properties upon strong twisting and stretching. A wearable electrical heating function is then demonstrated as a direct application. The infrared thermal images of the POLM conducting wires indicate that the distribution of POLMs in NLF is uniform. Time-dependent heating temperature versus different stretching demonstrates that the POLMs/NLF heating element is highly reliable and endurable. Moreover, the electrical resistance remains unchanged after 1000 cycles of bending and twisting. These characterization methods prove that POLMs can be applied to clothes and enable ultrathin, comfortable electronic applications.

An anti-leakage liquid metal thermal interface material.

Liquid metals (LMs) offer extremely low thermal resistance, and have been studied as an emerging thermal interface material (TIM). In this work, we propose an improved form of LM/indium film/LM sandwich pad as an efficient TIM. The sandwich-like structure was designed to avoid liquid leakage and oxidation of LM, and additional micropillar arrays were fabricated on the surface, which benefitted the improved wetting of the substrate surface. A series of thermal tests revealed the anti-leakage characteristic and thermal stability of LM/indium film/LM, whose thermal resistance can also reach as low as 0.036 cm2 K W-1. Additionally, the heat dissipation test performed on a commercial smart phone demonstrated that a LM/In/LM pad not only reduced the temperature of the CPU and back cover but also enhanced the runtime of a battery by 25.