Importance of Sonochemistry and Solution Conditions on the Acoustic Cavitation Activity

Abstract

Acoustic cavitation is known to induce extreme physical and chemical effects, all of which derive from the creation and violent collapse of bubbles as the sound wave propagates through a liquid medium. In order to capitalize on the benefits of acoustic cavitation for specific physical and chemical process applications, it is important to understand how cavitation activity varies under different sonication J. Lee (*) Chemical and Process Engineering, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey, UK e-mail: j.y.lee@surrey.ac.uk # Springer Science+Business Media Singapore 2015 M. Ashokkumar (ed.), Handbook of Ultrasonics and Sonochemistry, DOI 10.1007/978-981-287-470-2_10-1 1 and solution conditions. This chapter will first provide an introduction on bubble growth by rectified diffusion and bubble coalescence, which leads to the evolution of sonoluminescence (SL) and sonochemiluminescence (SCL) activity, and how these can be quantified. This will then be followed by a comprehensive review on the current state of knowledge relating to the influence sonication and solution properties, such as power, frequency, pulsing, dissolved gases, and surface-active solutes, have on bubble growth, SL, and SCL. This chapter will demonstrate the sensitivity of cavitation activity to small changes in sonication and solution properties, and why an awareness into these effects is important for optimizing ultrasound applications.