Application of Photocatalysis and Sonocatalysis for Treatment of Organic Dye Wastewater and the Synergistic Effect of Ultrasound and Light

Organic dyes play vital roles in the textile industry, while the discharge of organic dye wastewater in the production and utilization of dyes has caused significant damage to the aquatic ecosystem. This review aims to summarize the mechanisms of photocatalysis, sonocatalysis, and sonophotocatalysis in the treatment of organic dye wastewater and the recent advances in catalyst development, with a focus on the synergistic effect of ultrasound and light in the catalytic degradation of organic dyes. The performance of TiO₂-based catalysts for organic dye degradation in photocatalytic, sonocatalytic, and sonophotocatalytic systems is compared. With significant synergistic effect of ultrasound and light, sonophotocatalysis generally performs much better than sonocatalysis or photocatalysis alone in pollutant degradation, yet it has a much higher energy requirement. Future research directions are proposed to expand the fundamental knowledge on the sonophotocatalysis process and to enhance its practical application in degrading organic dyes in wastewater.

Sonophotocatalysis with Photoactive Nanomaterials for Wastewater Treatment and Bacteria Disinfection

Sonophotocatalysis is described as a combination of two individual processes of photocatalysis and sonocatalysis. It has proven to be highly promising in degrading dissolved contaminants in wastewaters as well as bacteria disinfection applications. It eliminates some of the main disadvantages observed in each individual technique such as high costs, sluggish activity, and prolonged reaction times. The review has accomplished a critical analysis of sonophotocatalytic reaction mechanisms and the effect of the nanostructured catalyst and process modification techniques on the sonophotocatalytic performance. The synergistic effect between the mentioned processes, reactor design, and the electrical energy consumption has been discussed due to their importance when implementing this novel technology in practical applications, such as real industrial or municipal wastewater treatment plants. The utilization of sonophotocatalysis in disinfection and inactivation of bacteria has also been reviewed. In addition, we further suggest improvements to promote this technology from the lab-scale to large-scale applications. We hope this up-to-date review will advance future research in this field and push this technology toward widespread adoption and commercialization.

Achieving Fast Charge Separation by Ferroelectric Ultrasonic Interfacial Engineering for Rapid Sonotherapy of Bacteria-Infected Osteomyelitis

Bacteria-infected osteomyelitis is life-threatening without effective therapeutic methods clinically. Here, a rapid and effective therapeutic strategy to treat osteomyelitis through ferroelectric polarization interfacial engineering of BiFeO₃ /MXene (Ti₃ C₂ ) triggered by ultrasound (US) is reported. Under US, the ferroelectric polarization induces the formation of the piezoelectric field. US cavitation effect induced sonoluminescence stimulates BiFeO₃ /Ti₃ C₂ to produce photogenerated carriers. With synergistic action of the polarization electric field and Schottky junction, BiFeO₃ /Ti₃ C₂ accelerates the separation of electrons and holes and simultaneously inhibits the backflow of electrons, thus improving the utilization of polarized charges and photogenerated charges and consequently enhancing the yield of reactive oxygen species under US. As a result, 99.87 ± 0.05% of Staphylococcus aureus are efficiently killed in 20 min with the assistance of ultrasonic heating. The theory of ferroelectric ultrasonic interfacial engineering is proposed, which brings new insight for developing ferroelectric ultrasonic responsive materials used for the diagnosis and therapy of deep tissue infection and other acoustoelectric devices.

Sonoluminescence Spectra in the First Tens of Seconds of Sonolysis of [BEPip][NTf2], at 20 kHz under Ar

Following recent works on the sonochemical degradation of butyl ethyl piperidinium bis-(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide ([BEPip][NTf₂]), monitoring of sonoluminescence (SL) spectra in the first tens of seconds of sonolysis was needed to better characterize the formed plasma and to question the correlation of the SL spectra with the viscosity. A very dry [BEPip][NTf₂] ionic liquid (IL) and a water-saturated liquid are studied in this paper. In both cases, IL degradation is observed as soon as SL emission appears. It is confirmed that the initial evolution of the SL intensity is closely linked to the liquid viscosity that impacts the number of bubbles; however, other parameters can also play a role, such as the presence of water. The water-saturated IL shows more intense SL and faster degradation. In addition to the expected bands, new emission bands are detected and attributed to the S₂ B-X emission, which is favored in the water-saturated ionic liquid.

A Quantum Heat Exchanger for Nanotechnology

In this paper, we design a quantum heat exchanger which converts heat into light on relatively short quantum optical time scales. Our scheme takes advantage of heat transfer as well as collective cavity-mediated laser cooling of an atomic gas inside a cavitating bubble. Laser cooling routinely transfers individually trapped ions to nano-Kelvin temperatures for applications in quantum technology. The quantum heat exchanger which we propose here might be able to provide cooling rates of the order of Kelvin temperatures per millisecond and is expected to find applications in micro- and nanotechnology.

Direct Evidence of Multibubble Sonoluminescence Using Therapeutic Ultrasound and Microbubbles

The intense conditions generated in the core of a collapsing bubble have been the subject of intense scrutiny from fields as diverse as marine biology and nuclear fusion. In particular, the phenomenon of sonoluminescence, whereby a collapsing bubble emits light, has received significant attention. Sonoluminescence has been associated predominantly with millimeter-sized bubbles excited at low frequencies and under conditions far removed from those associated with the use of ultrasound in medicine. In this study, however, we demonstrate that sonoluminescence is produced under medically relevant exposure conditions by microbubbles commonly used as contrast agents for ultrasound imaging. This provides a mechanistic explanation for the somewhat controversial reports of "sonodynamic" therapy, in which light-sensitive drugs have been shown to be activated by ultrasound-induced cavitation. To illustrate this, we demonstrate the activation of a photodynamic therapy agent using microbubbles and ultrasound. Since ultrasound can be accurately focused at large tissue depths, this opens up the potential for generating light at locations that cannot be reached by external sources. This could be exploited both for diagnostic and therapeutic applications, significantly increasing the range of applications that are currently restricted by the limited penetration of light in the tissue.

Sounding the death knell for microbes?

Over the past 5 years, several studies showed that ultrasound, which is sound with a frequency>20 kHz, is able to kill bacteria by activating molecules termed sonosensitizers (SS) to produce reactive oxygen species, which are toxic to microbes. It is our opinion that this work opens up the potential for the development of a novel form of ultrasound-mediated antimicrobial therapy. Termed sonodynamic antimicrobial chemotherapy (SACT), we define this therapy as a regime where a SS is selectively delivered to target microbial cells and activated by ultrasound to induce the death of those microbial cells. Here, we review recent work on SACT, current understanding of its mechanisms, and future prospects for SACT as a therapeutically viable antimicrobial regime.