Liquid metal-based powder materials including oxide, composites including same, and methods of forming same

Abstract

Liquid metal-based powder materials may include oxides. More specifically, the liquid metal-based powder materials may include a plurality of particles formed from a combination of a liquid metal and a dopant material. Each of the plurality of particles may have a predetermined size and having a composition that includes oxide. More specifically, each of the plurality of particles may include a core portion including the combination of the liquid metal and the dopant material, and oxide. Additionally, each of the plurality of particles may also include an outer portion surrounding the core portion. The outer portion may be formed as an oxide film. Furthermore, each of the plurality of particles may also include a plurality of supplemental nanoparticles formed within the core portion, and included in the combination of liquid metal, dopant material, and oxide.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A powder material comprising:
 a plurality of particles formed from a combination of a liquid metal and a dopant material, each of the plurality of particles having a predetermined size and having a composition that includes oxide.   
     
     
         2 . The powder material of  claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of particles further includes:
 a core portion including:
 the combination of the liquid metal and the dopant material, and 
 the oxide; and 
   an outer portion surrounding the core portion, the outer portion formed as an oxide film.   
     
     
         3 . The powder material of  claim 2 , wherein each of the plurality of particles further comprises a plurality of supplemental nanoparticles formed within the core portion, the plurality of supplemental nanoparticles formed form a material that alters at least one of:
 density characteristics of the plurality of particles,   heat capacity characteristics of the plurality of particles,   thermal conductivity of the plurality of particles,   electrical conductivity of the plurality of particles, or   magnetic properties of the plurality of particles.   
     
     
         4 . The powder material of  claim 1 , wherein the predetermined size of each of the plurality of particles is between approximately 5 microns and 50 microns. 
     
     
         5 . The powder material of  claim 3 , wherein the predetermined size of each of the plurality of particles is between approximately 8 microns and 25 microns. 
     
     
         6 . The powder material of  claim 1 , wherein the liquid metal is one of the metal or the metal alloy that is in the liquid state at a temperature near approximately 18 degrees Celsius and 25 degrees Celsius. 
     
     
         7 . The powder material of  claim 1 , wherein the liquid metal is selected from the group consisting of: Field's metal (BiInSn), gallium (Ga) metal, and gallium (Ga) based metal alloys. 
     
     
         8 . The powder material of  claim 1 , wherein the dopant material is selected from the group consisting of: zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), and Silver (Ag). 
     
     
         9 . A method of forming a powder material, the method comprising:
 performing a first sonication process on a combination of a liquid metal and a dopant material to form a preliminary powder material;   merging the preliminary powder material to form a preliminary liquid material; and   performing a second sonication process on the preliminary liquid material to generate a final powder material, the final powder material including plurality of particles formed from the preliminary liquid material,   wherein each of the plurality of particles of the final powder material include a predetermined size and have a composition that includes oxide.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the preliminary powder material includes a plurality of preliminary particles. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein performing the first sonication process further includes:
 forming a preliminary oxide film around a preliminary core portion of each of the plurality of preliminary particles of the preliminary powder material, the preliminary core portion of each of the plurality of preliminary particles of the preliminary powder material including the combination of the liquid metal and the dopant material.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein forming the preliminary oxide film further includes:
 forming the preliminary oxide film around a plurality of supplemental nanoparticles formed within the preliminary core portion of each of the plurality of preliminary particles of the preliminary powder material, the supplemental nanoparticles included in the combination of the liquid metal and the dopant material forming the preliminary powder material.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein each of the plurality of preliminary particles of the preliminary powder material include a predetermined size that is distinct from the predetermined size of each of the plurality of particles of the final powder material. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein merging the preliminary powder material further includes:
 melting the plurality of preliminary particles of the preliminary powder material;   breaking the formed, preliminary oxide film in each of the plurality of preliminary particles of the preliminary powder material; and   dispersing the broken, preliminary oxide film in each of the plurality of preliminary particles of the preliminary powder material within the formed preliminary liquid material.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein performing the second sonication process further includes:
 forming an oxide film around a core portion of each of the plurality of particles of the final powder material, the core portion of each of the plurality of particles of the final powder material including:
 the combination of the liquid metal and the dopant material, and 
 the oxide formed from the broken, preliminary oxide film in each of the plurality of preliminary particles of the preliminary powder material. 
   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising:
 filtering the preliminary powder material to remove preliminary particles having a size larger than a predetermined size of the plurality of preliminary particles; and   drying the plurality of preliminary particles of the preliminary powder material prior to merging the preliminary powder material to form the preliminary liquid material.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the first sonication process includes a first set of operational parameters and the second sonication process includes a second set of operational parameters, distinct from the first set of operational parameters. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising:
 mixing the final powder material with a flexible material to form a composite, the flexible material includes at least one a polymer material or a silicone-based material.   
     
     
         19 . A composite material comprising:
 a flexible material; and   a powder material mixed with the flexible material, the powder material including:
 a plurality of particles formed from a combination of a liquid metal and a dopant material, each of the plurality of particles having a predetermined size and having a composition that includes oxide. 
   
     
     
         20 . The composite material of  claim 19 , wherein the flexible material includes at least one a polymer material or a silicone-based material.