Jiawei Mi¹; ¹School of Engineering University of Hull

Funded by the Royal Society and the UK Engineering and Physical Science Research Council, we have conducted a comprehensive research on ultrasonic processing of structural and functional materials. We have used ultrafast synchrotron X-ray imaging to study the highly dynamic and transient phenomena concerning the fragmentation of crystalline phases and the exfoliation of 2D functional materials under ultrasonic waves.In this paper, I present the recent findings from our research, including (1) ultrasonic bubble oscillation and implosion, and their interactions with the crystalline phases, and (2) ultrasonic bubble implosion and their effects on the exfoliation of the layer structures of Highly Ordered Pyrolytic Graphite, and Molybdenum Disulfide. The research provide unambiguous real-time evidence and quantitative understanding on how ultrasound enhances the fragmentation crystalline phases and the exfoliation of layered materials, laying a solid foundation for further optimising and upscaling ultrasound processing techniques for different materials systems.