This award in the Inorganic, Bioinorganic, and Organometallic Chemistry Program supports research on sonochemistry by Dr. Kenneth S. Suslick of the Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. Sonochemistry concerns the nature and application of ultrasound to chemical reactions. Areas of investigation in this research project include: (1) mechanistic and spectroscopic probes of the cavitation event; (2) homogeneous sonochemistry; (3) heterogeneous sonochemistry and the effect of ultrasound on solids and surfaces; and (4) novel materials synthesis, both inorganic and biological. Sonoluminescence studies in both homogeneous liquids and in slurries will be used to further understanding of conditions during cavitation. Activation by ultrasound will extend from organic liquids and organometallic to metal and non-metal surfaces, and heterogenous catalytic systems. Ultrasound will also be used for synthesis of novel inorganic nanoscale materials and protein microspheres, including those which might have enzymatic activity or have potential application as MRI agents or blood substitutes. In recent years, the chemical effects of ultrasound have been studied and found to be due to acoustic cavitation, that is, the formation and collapse of bubbles in a liquid causing intense local heating and high pressures. Fundamental understanding of the phenomenon will continue to be explored, as well as new applications of ultrasound. Some of these include its use for synthesis of small particles of materials and proteins, which may have industrial and medical applications. Catalytic reactions and synthesis of alloys will also be explored.
