Liquid metal lattice materials with simultaneously high strength and reusable energy absorption

•Multiple reusable lattice materials are fabricated using liquid metal•High energy dissipation and strength are achieved simultaneously•Durable lattice structures and coating materials are presented•Energy dissipation mechanisms of reusable lattice materials are reviewed It is imperative to develop lattice materials with reusable energy absorption for sustainable, economic, and environmental considerations. Unfortunately, existing reusable lattice materials do not usually have both high strength and high energy absorption capacity simultaneously. To overcome this challenge, we developed four types of liquid metal lattice materials and explored their mechanical and recovery behaviors in this work. These beam and shell lattice materials have a liquid metal lattice core coated with two polymer coatings. It is found that the new hybrid coating is stronger and more durable compared to silicone coating alone. The Kelvin beam lattice and Primitive shell lattice are among the best candidates as reusable liquid metal lattice materials. By comparing various reusable lattice materials in the literature, it is found that the liquid metal lattice materials have the highest strength and energy absorption capacity due to the intrinsic metallic features. [Display omitted]