We present a method to control the interfacial energy of a liquid metal in an electrolyte via electrochemical deposition (or removal) of a surface oxide layer. This simple method can control the capillary behavior of gallium-based liquid metals by tuning the interfacial energy rapidly, significantly, and reversibly using modest voltages.
Eaker, C. B., Khan, M. R., Dickey, M. D. A Method to Manipulate Surface Tension of a Liquid Metal via Surface Oxidation and Reduction. J. Vis. Exp. (107), e53567, doi:10.3791/53567 (2016).