Texas A&M Metallic Gel Could Transform Batteries

Researchers at Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, have developed the first known metallic gel, a groundbreaking material made entirely of metal powders that can withstand extreme temperatures. Unlike typical gels used in everyday products, this innovative gel is created by mixing two metal powders. When heated, one metal melts, forming a liquid that is trapped within a solid scaffold of the other metal, creating a gel-like structure.

Typically, gels consist of organic materials that hold liquids at room temperature. In contrast, metallic gels require high temperatures—around 1,000 °C (1,832 °F)—to maintain their form. Dr. Michael J. Demkowicz, the project's lead, noted that the discovery of a gel comprising liquid metal supported by a microscopic skeleton was unexpected.

This metallic gel has significant implications for liquid metal batteries (LMBs), which are efficient energy storage systems that use liquid layers instead of solid materials. The newly developed metallic gel could stabilize the liquid metal electrodes, allowing LMBs to be used in mobile applications like heavy industrial vehicles and potentially even hypersonic vehicles.

The team’s experiments successfully demonstrated electricity generation using iron, bismuth, and calcium in a molten salt environment. This advancement represents a promising step toward integrating metallic gels into future energy technologies, with ongoing research aiming to explore their full potential.