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Shape-adaptive electronics based on liquid metal circuits printed on thermoplastic films

Nature Electronics (2026)Cite this article

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Abstract

Conformal electronics are of use in the development of wearable and biointegrated devices. However, existing methods of creating such electronics can lead to a lack of mechanical robustness, are limited in their range of materials or require specialized equipment and complex procedures. Here we report a heat-shrinking method for fabricating conformal electronics in which semi-liquid metal circuits are patterned onto thermoplastic substrates and then heated to induce shrinkage around a target object. We develop a semi-liquid metal that can withstand shrinkage deformation and maintain long-term electrical stability. We also develop simulation tools to consider the effect of the thermoplastic film’s deformation on the final circuit pattern, which allows precise circuit designs to be created on the initially planar film. The resulting shape-adaptive electronics exhibit high durability, with minimal conductivity change after 5,000 bending and twisting cycles. We illustrate the potential of the method by creating circuits for de-icing model aircraft, robot tactile sensors, fruit temperature and humidity sensors, fingertip pulse sensors, and smart bandages.

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Fig. 1: Concept and design of shape-adaptive electronics.
Fig. 2: Characterization of Cu-EGaIn wires’ adhesion to the thermoplastic films and the cross-section profile.
Fig. 3: Electrical performance of shape-adaptive electronics under different conditions.
Fig. 4: Demonstration of the universality of the heat-shrinking method.
Fig. 5: Demonstration of multiple shape-adaptive electronics.
Fig. 6: Demonstration of shape-adaptive electronics for human–computer interfaces.

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Source data are provided with this paper. Other data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding authors upon reasonable request.

Code availability

The codes used in this study are provided with this paper.

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Acknowledgements

We thank H. Li from Tsinghua University for her assistance in formatting the paper. This work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under grant numbers 62304150 (R.G.), 52121002 (X.H.), 62371335 (X.H.), 62371335 (H.W.) and 52301193 (H.W.).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Precision Measuring Technology and Instruments, Tianjin University, Tianjin, China

    Chengjie Jiang, Wenqiang Li, Qiushuo Wu, Zhi Wang, Kaiyan Wang, Bingyi Pan, Hui Zong, Xiaoqing Li, Jiaping Liu, Tianyu Li, Xian Huang & Rui Guo

  2. School of Precision Instrument and Opto-Electronics Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin, China

    Chengjie Jiang, Wenqiang Li, Qiushuo Wu, Zhi Wang, Kaiyan Wang, Bingyi Pan, Hui Zong, Xiaoqing Li, Jiaping Liu, Tianyu Li, Xian Huang & Rui Guo

  3. School of Mechanical Engineering and Automation, Beihang University, Beijing, China

    Bo Yuan

  4. Institute of Materials Research & Center of Double Helix, Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen, China

    Xi Tian & Hongzhang Wang

  5. State Key Laboratory of Cryogenic Science and Technology, Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

    Rui Guo

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Contributions

C.J. designed the different shape-adaptive electronics. C.J., W.L., Z.W., K.W., B.P., H.Z., X.L., J.L., B.Y., T.L. and X.T. participated in the preparation of different shape-adaptive electronics. C.J. performed the experiments and simulations. Q.W. wrote the code for deep learning. All photographic and diagrammatic content in the figures and Supplementary Information was created and composed by C.J., R.G. and H.W. The individual featured in Supplementary Video 8 is C.J. R.G., H.W. and X.H. conceived, designed and directed the project. R.G., H.W. and C.J. wrote the paper with input from all authors.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Xian Huang, Hongzhang Wang or Rui Guo.

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Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Peer review

Peer review information

Nature Electronics thanks Huanyu Cheng, Navid Hussain and Qian Zhao for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

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Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Supplementary information

Supplementary Information

Supplementary Figs. 1–42 and Table 1.

Reporting Summary

Supplementary Video 1

Shrinkage of the thermoplastic film during slow heating in a water bath.

Supplementary Video 2

Thermoplastic films with a Cu-EGaIn pattern shrinks onto a spherical surface.

Supplementary Video 3

Water bath heating shrinks the thermoplastic film onto different objects.

Supplementary Video 4

Hot air heating shrinks the thermoplastic film onto a metal ball.

Supplementary Video 5

Infrared video of water bath shrinkage and hot air shrinkage.

Supplementary Video 6

Demonstration of 3D electronics on different objects.

Supplementary Video 7

Infrared video recording of the heating circuit in operation on the model airplane.

Supplementary Video 8

Flight demonstration of an airplane model equipped with 3D electronics.

Supplementary Video 9

Smart bandage lights up as a warning when an external force is applied.

Supplementary Video 10

Demonstration of the robot tactile sensors.

Supplementary Code 1

CNN algorithm for object classification.

Source data

Source Data Fig. 2

Statistical source data.

Source Data Fig. 3

Statistical source data.

Source Data Fig. 4

Statistical source data.

Source Data Fig. 5

Statistical source data.

Source Data Fig. 6

Statistical source data.

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Cite this article

Jiang, C., Li, W., Wu, Q. et al. Shape-adaptive electronics based on liquid metal circuits printed on thermoplastic films. Nat Electron (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41928-025-01528-6

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