Liquid Metals Routes towards Making Superconductors

Abstract

We conceive liquid-metal-derived superconductors (LMDS) as a unified paradigm that enables the quick fabrication of superconducting materials under near-ambient conditions through introducing room-temperature liquid metals (LMs) as dynamic metallic reaction media. In this framework, a single liquid, typically a gallium or bismuth-based alloy, simultaneously serves as solvent, dopant, interfacial mediator, and superconducting host, thereby providing a route that is inherently superior to the high-temperature, high-pressure, and multistep procedures characteristic of current synthesis methods. This paradigm integrates LM-enabled pathways for producing bulk alloys, printed films, two-dimensional confined phases, wires, and nanodroplets, all of which exhibit intrinsic flexibility, self-healing behavior, and compatibility with soft-matter electronics. We further outline a data-driven LM materials genome that unifies composition, structure, ground-state quantities, interaction parameters, and macroscopic properties to accelerate predictive modeling and inverse design of LMDS. Beyond processing advantages, LMs provide an experimental platform for examining superconductivity in amorphous, nanoconfined, and dynamically disordered states and for revisiting the longstanding question of whether true superconductivity can exist in liquid state. This perspective positions LMs as a fertile and energy-efficient route toward reconfigurable and potentially transformative superconducting technologies.