Morphological coalescence in silver sulfate microparticles modulated using a shock tube

Abstract

Silver sulfate samples were dynamically shock-loaded in a semi-automatic shock tube. XRD confirmed retention of the orthorhombic Fddd phase, despite lattice expansion, defects, and partial crystallinity recovery at higher pulses. FESEM showed progressive fusion and agglomeration, while UV-DRS revealed band gap shifts from 3.8 eV (pristine) to 4.0 eV (100 shocks), recovering to 3.8 eV (300 shocks). Shock waves thus offer a non-thermal route to tune morphology and optical properties without altering crystal symmetry.