There is provided methods and systems for disaggregation and deagglomeration of small scale materials such as carbon nanotubes by cavitation of a treatment substance. The treatment substance may be a substance such as CO.sub.2 which is capable of undergoing phase changes. Systems must be capable of withstanding high pressures, and cavitation may be done by ultrasound, mechanical agitation, injection of a jet stream, or other methods. Materials treated via the methods of the invention may be removed without the use of chemical surfactants or other chemical modification means, and may be further used in a battery.

The present invention provides a chemical analyzer with highly reliable agitation performance, said chemical analyzer not only diagnosing the deterioration of a piezoelectric element, but also diagnosing the deformation and displacement of a reaction container and diagnosing the normality of the liquid quantity of a substance to be agitated in the reaction container. This chemical analyzer is characterized by comprising: an agitating mechanism that uses acoustic waves to agitate a sample and a reagent within a reaction container, generates acoustic waves using a piezoelectric element, and has an acoustic wave sensor for detecting the acoustic waves; and a controller that controls the agitating mechanism. Said chemical analyzer is further characterized in that the controller has: an acoustic wave detection unit that processes a detection signal detected by the acoustic wave sensor; a normality information memory in which normal-time information is stored; a signal intensity determination unit that compares the acoustic wave amplitude and acoustic wave frequency transmitted from the acoustic wave detection unit with the acoustic wave amplitude and acoustic wave frequency stored in the normality information memory; and a repeat period determination unit that compares the acoustic wave period characteristic transmitted from the acoustic wave detection unit with the acoustic wave period characteristic stored in the normality information memory.

The invention relates to an ultrasonic infusion device comprising an ultrasonic wave generator, a basin physically connected to the ultrasonic wave generator to form a rigid assembly and wherein said basin is arranged to comprise an ultrasound-conducting liquid, and an infusion container comprising a base, wherein vibration absorbing means are mounted between the rigid assembly and a container carrier, and wherein the base of the infusion container is dimensioned to be supported by the container carrier and is shaped to ensure continuous contact with the ultrasound-conducting liquid.

The invention relates to an ultrasonic infusion device comprising an ultrasonic wave generator, a basin physically connected to the ultrasonic wave generator to form a rigid assembly and wherein said basin is arranged to comprise an ultrasound-conducting liquid, and an infusion container comprising a base, wherein vibration absorbing means are mounted between the rigid assembly and a container carrier, and wherein the base of the infusion container is dimensioned to be supported by the container carrier and is shaped to ensure continuous contact with the ultrasound-conducting liquid.