Liquid metals and electrospun nanofibers: A magical marriage for wearable electronics

Flexible, stretchable electronics have drawn a lot of attention because they can be mechanically compatible with a variety of objects, unlike traditional rigid electronics. The integration of liquid metals (LMs), conductive materials that are inherently stretchable, and electrospinning has become a cutting-edge method for the preparation of flexible, stretchable, and breathable electronics. Due to its inherent properties, LMs inevitably present a series of problems when combined with electrospun substrates, such as poor interface integration, or leakage. Therefore, tremendous efforts are dedicated to improving the challenges that exist between LMs and electrospun substrates to obtain flexible, stretchable electronics with excellent performance to satisfy the requirements of different fields of use. In this review, various strategies for preparing electrospun LMs-based flexible, stretchable electronics are summarized for the first time. Meanwhile, the advantages and existing problems of each strategy are emphasized. Following this, we summarized the achievements of various interdisciplinary applications for electrospun LMs-based flexible, stretchable electronics in stretchable circuits and displays, stretchable sensors, epidermal electronics, and energy harvesting devices. Future developments of electrospun LMs-based wearable electronics can focus on interface interaction, encapsulation, recyclability, and multifunctional integration to adapt to complex application conditions. [Display omitted] •The properties of liquid metals (LMs) and the challenges faced in wearable electronics are introduced.•The combination of electrospun nanofibers and LMs for the preparation of stretchable electronics is deeply emphasized.•The utility of electrospun LMs-based materials in various fields is presented.•The challenges and outlooks of electrospun LMs-based stretchable electronics are presented to provide a direction for the future work.