Fundamental Study of Acoustic Interaction with Matter
The initial idea of DSP originates in our sonochemiluminescnce (SCL) experiments on alkaline aqueous solution of luminol (3-aminophthalhydrazide) to identify the spatial distribution of active chemical regions under focused ultrasound exposure. Hydroxyl radicals and hydrogen peroxide generated sonochemcially react with luminol where blue light is emitted. We observed the localized light at the focal region at certain experimental conditions. If we could utilize this reactivity of the localized region in the printing polymer, we could drive polymerization in the region and solidify the material consequently. The resemblance of this active region to the laser beam spot SLA inspired us to seek the possibility of printing with acoustic waves. In photochemistry (as in SLA), very large amounts of energy are introduced in a short-period in the form of electrical excitation. However, in sonochemistry (as in DSP), this energy is thermal with very fast heating and cooling rate inside the cavitation bubble so that it doesn’t transfer to the surrounding liquid. This short-lived thermal energy could polymerize heat curing polymers in DSP.
We investigate the foundation of acoustic waves interaction with matter using variety physical and chemical experimental and theoretical methods.
Source:
Habibi, M., Foroughi, S., et al. Direct sound printing. Nature Communications 13, 1800 (2022). https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-29395-1