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Ultrasonic systems must be able to produce an acoustic field with the highest possible energy concentration in sonochemical reactors to accomplish maximum efficacy in the sonolytic degradation of water contaminants. In the present study, the impact of cylindrical and conical stainless-steel reflectors placed on the liquid surface on the sonochemical oxidation activity of ultrasonication reactors was investigated. The amount of effective acoustic power transferred to the ultrasonicated medium without and with reflectors was measured by calorimetric characterization of the sono-reactors at diverse ultrasonication frequencies in the interval of 300-800 kHz and different electrical powers in the range of 40-120 W. Iodide dosimetry without and with reflectors at diverse ultrasonication conditions (300-800 kHz and 40-120 W) and various aqueous solution volumes in the range of 300-500 mL was used to assess the sonochemical oxidation activity, i.e., the generation of oxidative species (mainly hydroxyl radicals). Sonochemiluminescence (SCL) imaging was used to study the active acoustic cavitation bubbles distribution in the sono-reactors without and with reflectors. Significant impacts of the position and shape of the reflectors on the active acoustic cavitation bubble distribution and the sonochemical oxidation activity were observed due to remarkable modifications of the ultrasonic field by directing and focusing of the ultrasonic waves. A significant augmentation in the triiodide formation rate was obtained in the presence of the conical reflector, especially at 630 kHz and 120 W (60.5% improvement), while iodide oxidation was quenched in the presence of the cylindrical reflector at all ultrasonication frequencies and powers. The SCL images show a noteworthy modification in the ultrasonic field and the acoustic cavitation bubble population when reflectors were used. The sonochemical oxidation activity was improved by the conical reflector when placed in the Fresnel zone (near field region)., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

There is a lack of literature on peroxynitrite formation due to sonolysis of aerated water. In this work, the impact of sonication parameters, frequency and power, on ultrasonic peroxynitrite production in aerated alkaline water was investigated. Peroxynitrite formation was clearly established with undeniable evidence at all the tested frequencies in the range of 516-1140 kHz with a typical G-value (energy-specific yield) of 0.777 × 10 -10 , 0.627 × 10 -10 , 0.425 × 10 -10 and 0.194 × 10 -10 mol/J at 516, 558, 860 and 1140 kHz, respectively. The ultrasonication frequency has a direct impact on the sonochemical peroxynitrite production. Increasing the ultrasonication frequency in the interval 321-1140 kHz reduces peroxynitrite formation. The most practical sonochemistry dosimetries, including hydrogen peroxide production, triiodide dosimetry, Fricke dosimetry, and 4-nitrocatechol formation, were compared with the sonochemical efficiency of the reactors used to produce peroxynitrite. The G-value, energy specific yield, for the tested dosimetries was higher than that for peroxynitrite formation, regardless of frequency. For all chemical dosimetries investigated, the same trend of frequency dependence was found as for peroxynitrite generation. The influence of ultrasonication power on peroxynitrite formation by sonication at diverse frequencies in the interval 585-1140 kHz was studied. No peroxynitrite was formed at lower acoustic power levels, regardless of frequency. As the frequency increases, more power is required for peroxynitrite formation. The production of peroxynitrite increased as the acoustic power increased, despite the frequency of ultrasonic waves. Ultrasonic power is a key factor in the production of peroxynitrite by sonolysis. Since peroxynitrite is uniformly distributed in the bulk solution, peroxynitrite-sensitive solutes can be transformed both in the bulk of the solution and in the surfacial region (shell) of the cavitation bubble. The formation of peroxynitrite should be taken into account in sonochemistry, especially at higher pH values. Ultrasonic peroxynitrite formation in alkaline solution (pH 12) can be considered as a kind of chemical dosimetry in sonochemistry., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

This work explores the effect of persulfate (PS) on the sonochemical degradation of organic pollutants taking naphthol blue black (NBB), an anionic diazo dye, as a substrate model. The sonolytic experiments were conducted in the absence and presence of PS under various experimental conditions including acoustic power (10-80W), frequency (20 and 585kHz) and saturating gas (argon, air and nitrogen). Experimental results showed that PS decomposition into sulfate radical (SO 4 - ) takes place by sonolysis and increasing PS concentration up to 1g/L would result in an increase in the NBB degradation rate. It was found that the PS-enhanced effect was strongly operating parameters dependent. The positive effect of PS decreased with increasing power and the best enhancing effect was obtained for the lowest acoustic power. Correspondingly, the PS-enhanced effect was more remarkable at low frequency (20kHz) than that observed at high frequency ultrasound (585kHz). Nitrogen saturating gas gave the best enhanced effect of PS than argon and air atmospheres. Theoretical (computer simulation of bubble collapse) and experimental measurements of the yields of free radical generation under the different experimental conditions have been made for interpreting the obtained effects of PS on the sonochemical degradation of the dye pollutant. The experimental findings were attributed to the fact that radical-radical recombination reactions occur at faster rate than the radical-organic reaction when the concentration of free radicals is too high (at higher sonochemical conditions)., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

In this study, we attempt for the first time to couple sonication and photo-Fenton for bacterial inactivation of secondary treated effluent. Synthetic wastewater was subjected to sequential high-frequency/low power sonication, followed by mild photo-Fenton treatment, under a solar simulator. It was followed by the assessment of the contribution of each component of the process (Fenton, US, hv) towards the removal rate and the long-term survival; sunlight greatly improved the treatment efficiency, with the coupled process being the only one to yield total inactivation within the 4-h period of treatment. The short-term beneficial disinfecting action of US and its detrimental effect on bacterial survival in long term, as well as the impact of light addition were also revealed. Finally, an investigation on the operational parameters of the process was performed, to investigate possible improvement and/or limitations of the coupled treatment; 3 levels of each parameter involved (hydraulic, environmental, US and Fenton) were tested. Only H2O2 increased improved the process significantly, but the action mode of the joint process indicated potential cost-effective solutions towards the implementation of this method., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Nano-sized starch particles (NSP) were prepared from starch granules using a purely physical method of high-intensity ultrasonication. Particle size distribution, Field Effect Scanning Electron Microscopy (FE-SEM), Raman spectroscopy, and Wide-Angle X-ray Diffraction (WAXD) were used to characterize the morphology and crystal structure of the ensuing nanoparticles. The results revealed that ultrasound treatment of the starch suspension in water and at low temperature for 75 min results in the formation of starch nanoparticles between 30 and 100 nm in size. An attempt to explain the generation of starch nanoparticles was made on the basis of WAXD, Raman analysis and FE-SEM observation. Compared to acid hydrolysis, which is the most commonly adopted process, the present approach has the advantage of being quite rapid, presenting a higher yield and not requiring any chemical treatment., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Low-frequency ultrasound (LFUS) irradiation induces morphological, optical and surface changes in the commercial nano-TiO(2)-based photocatalyst, Evonik-Degussa P-25. Low-temperature electron spin resonance (ESR) measurements performed on this material provided the first experimental evidence for the formation of oxygen vacancies (V(o)), which were also found responsible for the visible-light absorption. The V(o) surface defects might result from high-speed inter-particle collisions and shock waves generated by LFUS sonication impacting the TiO(2) particles. This is in contrast to a number of well-established technologies, where the formation of oxygen vacancies on the TiO(2) surface often requires harsh technological conditions and complicated procedures, such as annealing at high temperatures, radio-frequency-induced plasma or ion sputtering. Thus, this study reports for the first time the preparation of visible-light responsive TiO(2)-based photocatalysts by using a simple LFUS-based approach to induce oxygen vacancies at the nano-TiO(2) surface. These findings might open new avenues for synthesis of novel nano-TiO(2)-based photocatalysts capable of destroying water or airborne pollutants and microorganisms under visible light illumination., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The Molybdate-catalyzed bromination of various aromatic compounds in the presence of KBr/H(2)O(2) in an aqueous/chloroform biphasic system occurred under ultrasonic irradiation, whereas the reaction did not take place under conventional mechanical stirring (1400 rpm). The sonochemical activation was found to be of secondary effect, attributed to lowering pH by sonolysis of CHCl(3)-H(2)O solvents mixture., (Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

This work deals with the ultrasonic degradation (800 kHz) of crystal violet (CV) under different experimental conditions. The effects of saturating gas (argon, carbon dioxide and air), CV concentration (2.45-1225 μmol L(-1)), pH (3-9) and power (20-80 W) were evaluated. The best performances were obtained at 80 W with argon as a saturating gas. The pH had no significant effect. The influence of several water matrices containing anions (chloride, sulphate and bicarbonate) and cations (Fe(2+)) on the sonolytic degradation of CV was also investigated. Significant differences were not observed with the presence of chloride and sulphate. However, at relatively low pollutant concentration (2.45 μmol L(-1)) bicarbonate showed a particular effect: a high bicarbonate concentration (350 mmol L(-1)) produced a detrimental effect, while a low bicarbonate concentration (3 mmol L(-1)) increased the efficiency of the process. The presence of Fe(2+) (1 mmol L(-1)) also increased the CV (49 μmol L(-1)) degradation by 32% after 180 min. Analyses of intermediates by GC-MS led to the identification of several sonochemical by-products: N,N-dimethylaminobenzene, 4-(N,N-dimethylamino)-4'-(N',N'-dimethylamino)benzophenone, and N,N,N',N'-tetramethyl-4,4'-diaminodiphenylmethane. The presence of these aromatic structures showed that the main ultrasonic CV degradation pathway is linked to the reaction with *OH radicals. At the end of the treatment, these early products were converted into biodegradable organic by-products which could be easily treated in a subsequent biological treatment., (Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Sonochemical degradation of phenol (Ph), 4-isopropylphenol (4-IPP) and Rhodamine B (RhB) in aqueous solutions was investigated for a large range of initial concentrations in order to analyze the reaction kinetics. The initial rates of substrate degradation and H(2)O(2) formation as a function of initial concentrations were determined. The obtained results show that the degradation rate increases with increasing initial substrate concentration up to a plateau and that the sonolytic destruction occurs mainly through reactions with hydroxyl radicals in the interfacial region of cavitation bubbles. The rate of H(2)O(2) formation decreases with increasing substrate concentration and reaches a minimum, followed by almost constant production rate for higher substrate concentrations. Sonolytic degradation data were analyzed by the models of Okitsu et al. [K. Okitsu, K. Iwasaki, Y. Yobiko, H. Bandow, R. Nishimura, Y. Maeda, Sonochemical degradation of azo dyes in aqueous solution: a new heterogeneous kinetics model taking into account the local concentration OH radicals and azo dyes, Ultrason. Sonochem. 12 (2005) 255-262.] and Seprone et al. [N. Serpone, R. Terzian, H. Hidaka, E. Pelizzetti, Ultrasonic induced dehalogenation and oxidation of 2-, 3-, and 4-chlorophenol in air-equilibrated aqueous media. Similarities with irradiated semiconductor particulates, J. Phys. Chem. 98 (1994) 2634-2640.] developed on the basis of a Langmuir-type mechanism. The five linearized forms of the Okitsu et al.'s equation as well as the non-linear curve fitting analysis method were discussed. Results show that it is not appropriate to use the coefficient of determination of the linear regression method for comparing the best-fitting. Among the five linear expressions of the Okitsu et al.'s kinetic model, form-2 expression very well represent the degradation data for Ph and 4-IPP. Non-linear curve fitting analysis method was found to be the more appropriate method to determine the model parameters. An excellent representation of the experimental results of sonolytic destruction of RhB was obtained using the Serpone et al.'s model. The Serpone et al.'s model gives a worse fit for the sonolytic degradation data of Ph and 4-IPP. These results indicate that Ph and 4-IPP undergo degradation predominantly at the bubble/solution interface, whereas RhB undergoes degradation at both bubble/solution interface and in the bulk solution., ((c) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

This paper explores the degradation of a model pollutant, bisphenol A, by an advanced oxidation process that combines sonolysis, Fe(2+), and TiO(2) in a photoassisted process. Experiments were done under saturated oxygen conditions. The effect of different Fe(2+) (0.56 and 5.6 mg/L) and TiO(2) (10 and 50 mg/L) concentrations was investigated on both the elimination and mineralization of the pollutant. A pronounced synergistic effect that led to the complete and rapid elimination of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) was observed even at low catalyst loadings. In this system, almost a complete removal of DOC (93%) was observed after 4 h using 10 and 5.6 mg/L of TiO(2) and Fe(2+), respectively, whereas at the same time, only 5, 6, and 22% of DOC was removed by an individual process alone (TiO(2) photocatalysis, ultrasound, and photo-Fenton, respectively). In this system, ultrasound has the principal role of eliminating the initial substrate and providing hydrogen peroxide for the photocatalytic systems, while photo-Fenton and TiO(2) photocatalysis are mainly responsible for the transformation of the intermediates in CO(2) and H(2)O. The role of H(2)O(2) generated from the sonochemical process is also discussed., (Copyright (c) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The influence of bicarbonate and carbonate ions on sonolytic degradation of cationic dye, Rhodamine B (RhB), in water was investigated. As a consequence of ultrasonic cavitation that generates .OH radicals, carbonate radicals were secondary products of water sonochemistry when it contains dissolved bicarbonate or carbonate ions. The results clearly demonstrated the significant intensification of sonolytic destruction of RhB in the presence of bicarbonate and carbonate, especially at lower dye concentrations. Degradation intensification occurs because carbonate radicals sonochemically formed undergo radical-radical recombination at a lesser extent than hydroxyl radicals. The generated carbonate radicals are likely able to migrate far from the cavitation bubbles towards the solution bulk and are suitable for degradation of an organic dye such as RhB. Therefore, at low dye concentrations, carbonate radical presents a more selective reactivity towards RhB molecules than hydroxyl radical. In the presence of bicarbonate, degradation rate reached a maximum at 3 g L(-1) bicarbonate, but subsequent addition retards the destruction process. In RhB solutions containing carbonate, the oxidation rate gradually increased with increasing carbonate concentration up to 10 g L(-1) and slightly decreased afterward. Carbonate radicals sonochemically generated are suitable for total removal of COD of sonicated RhB solutions., ((c) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)