Activation of TiO 2 photocatalyst by single-bubble sonoluminescence for water treatment

Abstract

Single-bubble sonoluminescence (SBSL) continues to attract many researchers because the physics behind it remains uncertain and few applications have appeared. In this study, we propose to apply SBSL to a water-treatment technique. The SBSL flashes contain intense ultraviolet light, which activates a TiO 2 photocatalyst to decompose organic compounds in water. This mechanism comes from the similar spectrum patterns between SBSL emission and TiO 2 absorption. SBSL in solutions containing small amount of TiO 2 powder decomposed phenol and 2,4-dinitrophenol with efficiency several times higher than those by the existing methods.