Ben Nanzai

Effect of reaction vessel diameter on sonochemical efficiency and cavitation dynamics.

The influence of reaction vessel diameter on the sonochemical yield was investigated by using reaction vessels with five different diameters. It was revealed that the formation of H(2)O(2) and chloride ion, from the sonolysis of pure water and 1,2,4-trichlorobenzene aqueous solution, was affected by the reaction vessel diameter. That is, these yields increased as the reaction vessel diameter increased up to ø 90 mm and then decreased over ø 90 mm. From the analyses of the measurement of sonochemiluminescence and the calorimetry, it was suggested that active cavitation bubbles were formed at certain zones. In the case of a larger diameter reaction vessel, it was suggested that bubble nuclei that have not grown up to the resonance size, escaped from the sonication zone to the non-sonication zone and dissolved away. As a result, the number of active cavitation bubbles and the yields of H(2)O(2) and chloride ion would decrease in the case of a larger diameter reaction vessel.

Effect of carbon tetrachloride on sonochemical decomposition of methyl orange in water

Two types of sonicators were used for the sonochemical decomposition of methyl orange (MO) in the presence and absence of carbon tetrachloride (CCl4): One is a 45kHz ultrasonic cleaning bath (a low intensity sonicator) and the other is a 200kHz ultrasonic reactor (a high intensity sonicator). It was clearly confirmed that the rates of the sonochemical decomposition of MO increased with increasing the concentration of CCl4 in both sonicators. The enhancement effect of CCl4 was much higher in the high intensity sonicator than in the low intensity one: by the addition of 100ppm of CCl4, the decomposition ratio of MO with the high intensity sonicator became 41 times larger, while that with the low intensity sonicator became 4.8 times larger. Based on the obtained results, it was suggested that the formed cavitation phenomenon was different between sonicators. It was also suggested that the sonochemical decomposition of MO in the presence of CCl4 would be useful to evaluate the sonochemical efficiency, because the rate of MO decomposition can be effectively enhanced by the sonolysis of CCl4.

Sonochemical decomposition of organic acids in aqueous solution: Understanding of molecular behavior during cavitation by the analysis of a heterogeneous reaction kinetics model

The sonochemical decomposition of a low concentration of butyric acid was performed in an aqueous solution by use of 200 kHz ultrasound to discuss the reaction kinetics and molecular behavior during cavitation. Taking into account a Langmuir-type adsorption model, we propose a heterogeneous reaction kinetics model, which is based on the local reaction zone at the interface region of the cavitation bubbles, where the adsorption and desorption of butyric acid molecules from the bulk solution occur during bubble oscillation and then the existing molecules inside the local reaction zone are finally decomposed. To confirm our proposed kinetics model, the rates of decomposition were investigated as a function of the initial concentration of butyric acids in the different pH solutions. It was confirmed that our model could be reasonably applied to explain the obtained results and the pseudo rate constant (k) and the equilibrium constant (K) were able to be calculated: k is 8.0 microM min(-1) (pH 2) and 3.5 microM min(-1) (pH 10), and K is 5.7 x 10(-3) microM(-1) (pH 2) and 8.0 x 10(-3) microM(-1) (pH 10), respectively. By the analysis of the obtained K values, it was clear that the ionized organic acid molecules are relatively difficult to accumulate at the reaction zone, because of their lower hydrophobicity compared with that of the neutral ones. The results obtained in the sonochemical decomposition of benzoic acid were also able to be analyzed with the proposed kinetics model. In addition, we proposed an opinion toward the interpretation of a Langmuir-type adsorption model which has often been applied to explain heterogeneous reaction systems.

Sonochemical reduction of permanganate to manganese dioxide: the effects of H2O2 formed in the sonolysis of water on the rates of reduction.

Chemical effects of ultrasound have been actively researched in the field of the synthesis of various metal nanoparticles and nanostructured materials. It is very important to understand the reduction mechanism of metal ions, because the reduction processes can be often applied to the synthesis of various materials. In this study, the sonochemical reduction of MnO4- to MnO2 in water under Ar atmosphere was investigated to discuss the reduction mechanism. It has been reported that H, OH, H2 and H2O2 are formed from the sonolysis of water. To understand the roles of H2O2 on the reduction, the reaction of MnO4- with H2O2 without ultrasonic irradiation was investigated. The obtained results suggested the progress of the following reaction: 2MnO4-+3H2O2-->2MnO2+3O2+2OH-+2H2O. In addition, the rates of the sonochemical reduction of MnO4- were investigated in the presence of 1-propanol, where 1-propanol acted as an OH radical scavenger so that the amounts of the sonochemically formed H2O2 molecules were able to be controlled. The results clearly indicated that the sonochemically formed H2O2 molecules as well as H2 molecules and H atoms play an important role for MnO4- reduction. This mechanism was also supported by the analysis of pH changes during ultrasonic irradiation: the pH value increased as the sonochemical reduction of MnO4- proceeded.

Influence of adding salt on ultrasonic atomization in an ethanol-water solution.

Ethanol was enriched by ultrasonic atomization. Enrichment ratios were increased by adding salt to the ethanol solution. Different enrichment ratios were observed for different types of salts in a range of low ethanol concentrations. The enrichment ratio was significantly improved by adding K(2)CO(3) or (NH(4))(2)SO(4). It is concluded that this is due to enhanced interfacial adsorption of the ethanol. Addition of Na(2)CO(3) to the ethanol solution also enhanced the interfacial adsorption of the ethanol, but the effect was relatively small. Addition of NaCl to the ethanol solution did not enhance the interfacial adsorption of the ethanol.