Fiber‐reinforced Liquid Metal Composites With Automated Circuit Fabrication for Structurally‐Integrated Power Transfer

ABSTRACT

Liquid metal composites (LMCs) combine polymer processability with thermal and electrical functionality, making them promising materials for electronics integration. While LMCs have largely been explored in soft polymers, the integration of liquid metal into load‐bearing composites could translate the unique processability and multifunctional response of liquid‐metal systems to structural materials. This work demonstrates a materials and manufacturing method for the fabrication of rigid, multifunctional, fiber‐reinforced liquid metal composites (FibRe LMCs) that can be locally transformed from dielectric to electrically conductive through an automated computer numerical control (CNC) milling process. By incorporating fiberglass and Kevlar fabrics with liquid metal‐vinyl ester resins, these composites exhibit an uncommon combination of tensile modulus ( GPa) and electrical conductivity ( S ), while enabling digitally directed circuit fabrication within structural composites. Milled circuits demonstrate resilient functionality, maintaining RF response after cyclic bending, possessing self‐healing conductive pathways that are robust to extreme damage, and providing continued function after exposure to elevated temperature, freezing, and underwater environments. Demonstration of a CNC‐fabricated rectifying antenna embedded within a load‐bearing composite highlights the potential of FibRe LMCs as mechanically robust structural electronics for integrated power transfer, sensing, and communication.