title: Activation of TiO2 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 TiO2 photocatalyst to decompose organic compounds in water. This mechanism comes from the similar spectrum patterns between SBSL emission and TiO2 absorption. SBSL in solutions containing small amount of TiO2 powder decomposed phenol and 2,4-dinitrophenol with efficiency several times higher than those by the existing methods.
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Engineering Science, Osaka University, Toyonaka, Japan. ogi@me.es.osaka-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Hirotsugu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ogi
authors.forename: Masahiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hirao
authors.forename: Masashi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shimoyama