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Nanosecond laser-induced liquid-to-gas transitions for light-to-mechanical energy conversion

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Abstract

Nanosecond laser impulsive heating is used to generate a liquid→gas phase transition that performs mechanical work. A simple laser flyer apparatus is designed where a metal plate is placed on top of a variable volume of liquid. When a high-energy nanosecond laser pulse impacts the bottom of the plate, explosive vaporization of the liquid propels it upward. The initial velocity of the plate, and thus its kinetic energy, is measured as a function of several parameters, including liquid volume, laser wavelength, pulse energy, and chemical composition of the liquid. Light-to-kinetic energy conversion efficiencies that approach 2% are measured. Although surface discoloration of the metal is observed, there was no measurable decrease in the initial velocity even after 200 cycles. For protic liquids like water and ethylene glycol, the initial velocity is independent of the chemical composition of the liquid, possibly due to the contribution of exothermic oxidative reactions at high temperatures. For alkane liquids, the initial velocity decreases with increasing molecular weight, consistent with a simple model that relates it to physical properties like the heat of vaporization. The results suggest that nanosecond pulsed laser heating for liquid→gas actuation may be a relatively efficient way to transform photons into mechanical energy.

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Acknowledgements

C. J. B. acknowledges support from the Office of Naval Research (MURI on Photomechanical Material Systems; ONR N00014-18-1-2624). T.N.L. acknowledges support from the Department of Defense (DoD) Science, Mathematics, and Research for Transformation (SMART) Scholarship.

Funding

This work was supported by the Office of Naval Research (MURI on Photomechanical Material Systems; ONR N00014-18-1-2624).

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  1. Department of Chemistry, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, 92521, USA

    Taylor N. Lewis & Christopher J. Bardeen

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All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection, and analysis were performed by TNL. The first draft of the manuscript was written by CJB and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Christopher J. Bardeen.

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339_2023_6471_MOESM1_ESM.pdf

Supplementary Information. Supplementary information is available, including metal, confinement, mass, and protic solvent dependences, cycling data, and images of Al and PMMA substrate (PDF 611 KB)

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Lewis, T.N., Bardeen, C.J. Nanosecond laser-induced liquid-to-gas transitions for light-to-mechanical energy conversion. Appl. Phys. A 129, 189 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-023-06471-x

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