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Updated: Jul 26, 2026

Activating Molecules, Ions, and Solid Particles with Acoustic Cavitation
Published on: April 11, 2014
High velocity interparticle collisions driven by ultrasound
Tanya Prozorov1, Ruslan Prozorov, Kenneth S Suslick
1School of Chemical Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA.
Abstract:
Ultrasonic irradiation of slurries produces high velocity impacts between solid metal particles that are sufficient to cause interparticle melting. Sonication of 5 mum Zn powder as a slurry in alkanes, for example, produces dense agglomerates 50 mum in diameter consisting of approximately 1000 fused particles. Particle size was found to be the most influential parameter in inducing local melting during interparticle collisions. Ultrasonic irradiation of mixed powders resulted in formation of agglomerates with larger Zn particles "soldered" by the smaller ones. A simple kinematic model of the ultrasound-driven interparticle fusion predicts a melting criterion that is nonmonotonically dependent on particle size and is shown to be in agreement with experiment.
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