Laser-assisted fragmentation of Al particles suspended in liquid

Abstract Laser-assisted fragmentation of Al micro- and nano-particles in liquid is studied both experimentally and theoretically. Modeling of the evolution of size distribution function of particles is performed on the basis of numerical solution of kinetic equation for distribution function which takes into account the ablation and splitting of particles into fragments of different sizes. It is assumed that depending on the size of particles, the fragmentation scenario may vary from monoatomic evaporation to detachment of relatively large fragments. The first mechanism of fragmentation is typical for nanoparticles while the second one is characteristic for large (micrometer-sized) particles. Laser-assisted fragmentation of Al micro-particles suspended in liquid ethanol to Al nanoparticles is experimentally studied using a Nd:YAG laser with pulse duration of 10 ps and repetition rate of 300 kHz. The evolution of the size distribution function with laser exposure time is monitored and compared to modeling results.