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Thermomagnetic liquid metal switches with fast bidirectional response

Author

Listed:
  • Haodong Chen

    (University of Science and Technology Beijing)

  • Yuyu Xie

    (University of Science and Technology Beijing)

  • Kaiming Qiao

    (University of Science and Technology Beijing)

  • Longlong Xie

    (University of Science and Technology Beijing)

  • Ziyuan Yu

    (University of Science and Technology Beijing)

  • Chenyu Xu

    (University of Science and Technology Beijing)

  • Jingyi Liu

    (University of Science and Technology Beijing)

  • Mingze Liu

    (University of Science and Technology Beijing)

  • Yongyu Lu

    (Chinese Academy of Sciences)

  • Jing Liu

    (Chinese Academy of Sciences)

  • Fengxia Hu

    (Chinese Academy of Sciences)

  • Baogen Shen

    (Chinese Academy of Sciences)

  • Ke Chu

    (Lanzhou Jiaotong University)

  • Jia Yan Law

    (Universidad de Sevilla)

  • Victorino Franco

    (Universidad de Sevilla)

  • Hu Zhang

    (University of Science and Technology Beijing)

Abstract

Traditional thermal switches usually suffer from long-time and unidirectional response. Herein, we combined liquid metals with magnetic Ni2Mn1.4In0.6 particles and developed a thermomagnetic liquid metal. These materials not only show excellent fluidity and electrical conductivity, but also exhibit fast response at a tuneable temperature that traditional magnetic liquid metals do not have. The ultimate application is designed as micro-channel thermal switch. Particularly, our thermal switch features bidirectional response through the droplet displacement, thus simultaneously cutting off the working circuit while turning on the fire extinguishing. Its response time of 1.2 s is 3.3 − 5.6 times faster than typical commercial thermal switches under the same hot source temperature of 75 °C, and it can be further reduced to 660 ms under the optimal environment. Moreover, this fast-response thermal switch offers the fastest recovery time, low cost, and long-cycle stability, showing a huge potential as a generation of thermal switches for diverse applications.

Suggested Citation

  • Haodong Chen & Yuyu Xie & Kaiming Qiao & Longlong Xie & Ziyuan Yu & Chenyu Xu & Jingyi Liu & Mingze Liu & Yongyu Lu & Jing Liu & Fengxia Hu & Baogen Shen & Ke Chu & Jia Yan Law & Victorino Franco & Hu, 2025. "Thermomagnetic liquid metal switches with fast bidirectional response," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 16(1), pages 1-12, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:16:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-025-58015-x
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-58015-x
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Yifeng Shen & Dongdong Jin & Mingming Fu & Sanhu Liu & Zhiwu Xu & Qinghua Cao & Bo Wang & Guoqiang Li & Wenjun Chen & Shaoqin Liu & Xing Ma, 2023. "Reactive wetting enabled anchoring of non-wettable iron oxide in liquid metal for miniature soft robot," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-14, December.
    2. Yongyu Lu & Dehai Yu & Haoxuan Dong & Jinran Lv & Lichen Wang & He Zhou & Zhen Li & Jing Liu & Zhizhu He, 2022. "Magnetically tightened form-stable phase change materials with modular assembly and geometric conformality features," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-12, December.
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