Acoustic processes in materials

Abstract

The coupling of acoustic energy with materials structures and processes is at the core of such current and emerging application areas as ultrasound-enabled materials characterization, structuring, and processing. High concentration of acoustic energy, such as upon the collapse of a cavitation bubble, has been shown to provide conditions for the synthesis of unusual material phases and structures, while intriguing reports on acoustic activation of surface diffusion, desorption, and catalysis hold high promise for applications where heating must be avoided or rapid switching of surface conditions is required. Some of the recent scientific and technical advances in the general area of acoustically enabled materials synthesis, processing, and characterization are reviewed in this issue of MRS Bulletin. Additional discussion of experimental data and computational results providing insights into the fundamental mechanisms and channels of the acoustic energy coupling to atomic-scale surface features and adsorbates is also provided in this article.