Ultrasonilised

Ultrasonilised is an adjective used to describe materials, liquids, or samples that have been subjected to ultrasonication, the application of high-frequency sound waves to a medium. Ultrasonication typically uses frequencies from about 20 kHz to a few MHz and is carried out with devices such as ultrasonic baths or ultrasonic probes (sonotrodes). The primary physical mechanism is acoustic cavitation: the formation, growth, and collapse of microbubbles in liquids, which generates localized high temperatures and pressures, shock waves, and intense shear forces. These effects promote rapid mixing, dispersion, deagglomeration, emulsification, cleaning, or extraction, depending on the medium and conditions, and may also cause chemical changes through radical formation in water.

Common uses include dispersing nanoparticles in suspensions, exfoliating layered materials (for example, producing graphene or transition metal dichalcogenide flakes), extracting bioactive compounds from plant material, degassing liquids, and cleaning contaminated surfaces or labware. In polymer chemistry, ultrasonication can drive chain scission or facilitate difficult homogenization in composites.

Process parameters such as frequency, acoustic amplitude, power input, duration, and temperature control the outcome and can be tuned to minimize undesired heating. Prolonged ultrasonication can lead to sample degradation or electrode erosion and sometimes introduces contaminants from the apparatus.

Ultrasonilised is often used interchangeably with ultrasonicated, though regional spelling preferences may vary. See also ultrasonication, sonication, cavitation.