This paper presents a simple, fast, and cost-effective method for creating metallic microstructured surfaces by spray-coating a dispersion of copper nanoparticles (CuNPs) onto polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) substrates, enabling the imbibition-induced wetting of liquid metal. The formation of these microstructured patterns is crucial for the spontaneous wetting of gallium-based liquid metals. Traditional techniques for producing such microstructures often involve complex and costly lithography and vacuum deposition methods. In contrast, this study demonstrates that liquid metal wetting can occur with metal microstructures formed through a straightforward spray-coating process. To immobilize the CuNPs on the polymer substrate, an organic solvent that dissolves the polymer surface was employed as the dispersion medium. The effects of various spray-coating parameters, including distance and time, on the uniformity and immobilization of CuNP films were systematically investigated. Under optimal conditions (120 s of spray time and 10 cm spray distance), CuNPs dispersed in dichloromethane (DCM) yielded uniform and stable microstructured surfaces. The spontaneous wetting of gallium-based liquid metal was observed on the fabricated CuNP film. Additionally, liquid metal selectively wet the CuNP patterns formed by stencil techniques, establishing electrical connections between electrodes. These findings underscore the potential of spray-coating for fabricating metallic surfaces to drive the formation of liquid metal patterns in flexible electronics applications.
Keywords: copper nanoparticles; imbibition; liquid metal; spray coating; wetting.