title: Is reproducibility inside the bag? Special issue fundamentals and applications of sonochemistry ESS-15.
abstract: In this paper we report our most recent attempts to tackle a notorious problem across several scientific activities from the ultrasonics sonochemical perspective: reproducibility of results. We provide experimental results carried out in three different laboratories, using the same ingredients: ultrasound and a novel cavitation reactor bag. The main difference between the experiments is that they are aimed at different applications, KI liberation and MB degradation; and exfoliation of two nanomaterials: graphene and molybdenum disulfide. Iodine liberation rates and methylene blue degradation were higher for the cases where a cavitation intensification bag was used. Similarly, improved dispersion and more polydisperse exfoliated layers of nanomaterials were observed in the intensified bags compared to plain ones. The reproducibility of these new experiments is compared to previous experimental results under similar conditions. Our main conclusion is that despite knowing and understanding most physicochemical phenomena related to the origins and effects of cavitation, there is still a long path towards reproducibility, both in one laboratory, and compared across different laboratories. As emphasized in the sonochemical literature, the latter clearly illustrates the complexity of cavitation as nonlinear phenomenon, whose quantitative estimation represents a challenging aspect. We also provide a list of procedural steps that can help improving reproducibility and scale-up efforts.
authors.affiliation: University Nova of Lisbon, Caparica 2829-516, Portugal.
authors.forename: Filipe
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gomes
authors.affiliation: Institute of Chemical Technology Matunga, Mumbai 400019, India.
authors.forename: Harsh
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Thakkar
authors.affiliation: University of Eastern Finland, Department of Environmental and Biological Sciences, P.O. Box 1627, 70211 Kuopio, Finland.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lähde
authors.affiliation: BuBclean, 7621VK Borne, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Bram
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Verhaagen
authors.affiliation: Institute of Chemical Technology Matunga, Mumbai 400019, India.
authors.forename: Aniruddha B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Pandit
authors.affiliation: Mesoscale Chemical Systems Group, University of Twente, 7500AE Enschede, The Netherlands; BuBclean, 7621VK Borne, The Netherlands. Electronic address: d.fernandezrivas@utwente.nl.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Fernández Rivas
keywords: Cavitation; Reproducibility; Sonochemistry; Ultrasound