Influence of the temperature on the opto-acoustophoretic effect

Opto-acoustophoretic mobility has been demonstrated recently for fluorescent and colored particles acoustically levitated in a stationary ultrasonic field when illuminated with the appropriate optical wavelength [Dumy, Hoyos, and Aider, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 146, 4557-4568 (2019); Zhou, Gao, Yang, Li, Shao, Zhang, Li, and Li, Adv. Sci. 5, 1800122 (2018)]. It is a repeatable phenomenon, needing both acoustic trapping and specific optic excitation to occur. However, the physical origin of the phenomenon is still debated. In this study, we provide more insights into the probable origin of this phenomenon by confronting numerical simulations with temperature controlled experiments. The phenomenon properties are well reproduced by our model, relying on a thermofluidic instability, hinting at the potential thermally induced fluid density gradient as a drag source for the observed ejection of particles. Thermostated experiments exhibit a surprising threshold above which the phenomenon is not observed anymore no matter how large the optic or acoustic energies used. This exciting observation differs from the initial interpretation of the phenomenon, altering its potential application without removing its interest because it suggests the possible contactless generation of customized flows by acoustically trapped particles.