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Applications of Ultrasound to Materials Chemistry

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 November 2013

Kenneth S. Suslick
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This article will begin with an introduction to acoustic cavitation, the physical phenomenon responsible for the chemical effects of ultrasound. Some recent applications of sonochemistry to the synthesis of nanophase and amorphous metals, as well as to heterogenous catalysis, will then be highlighted. Finally, we will examine the effects of ultrasound on metal powders in liquid-solid slurries.

The chemical effects of ultrasound do not come from a direct interaction of sound with molecular species. Ultrasound has frequencies from around 15 kilohertz to tens of megahertz. In liquids, this means wavelengths from centimeters down to microns, which are not molecular dimensions. Instead, when sound passes through a liquid, the formation, growth, and implosive collapse of bubbles can occur, as depicted in Figure 1. This process is called acoustic cavitation.

More specifically, sound passing through a liquid consists of expansion waves and compression waves. As sound passes through a liquid, if the expansion wave is intense enough (that is, if the sound is loud enough), it can pull the liquid apart and form a bubble (a cavity). The compression wave comes along and compresses this cavity, then another expansion wave re-expands it. So we have an oscillating bubble going back and forth, say, 20,000 times a second.

Type
Technical Features
Information
MRS Bulletin , Volume 20 , Issue 4 , April 1995 , pp. 29 - 34
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1995

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References

Some Leading References to Materials Science Applications of Sonochemistry

Suslick, K.S., Science 247 (1990) p. 1439.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Suslick, K.S., in Encyclopedia of Materials Science and Engineering, 3rd suppl., Cahn, R.W., ed. (Pergamon Press, Oxford, 1993) p. 2093.Google Scholar
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