The available devices at the Sonochemistry in Complex Fluids Laboratory are:
The TOC-meter (Shimadzu TOC-V CSH) enables the measurement of the amount of organic or inorganic carbon contained in liquid samples. Analyses are performed by catalytic combustion over a Pt/Al2O3 catalyst heated at 680°C coupled with an infra-red detector. The device is supplied with an ASI-V automatic sampler.
LSFC is equipped with several high-power ultrasonic generators operating at 20 kHz (Vibra-cell, Sonics&Materials). Ultrasound is emitted with a piezoelectric transducer and applied with a 1 cm2 titanium probe. The horn is mounted on top of a home-made reactor and fixed with a Teflon ring allowing its reproducible immersion in the treated media. The cell is equipped with inlets allowing sampling the solution during sonolysis and controlling the temperature and the saturating gas. Various reactor and probe geometries are used in the laboratory. Also, a glove box situated at ATALANTE (CEA Marcoule) has been equipped with a 20 kHz device allowing the sonolysis of radioactive solutions.
The laboratory is equipped with 100 kHz to 1 MHZ high frequency generators (ELAC Nautik or Sinaptec). Home-developed reactors are mounted on top of piezoelectric transducers allowing high-power ultrasound to be delivered to the treated solutions. The geometry of the tight cells allows the control of the temperature within the system, the circulation of various saturating gases, and the sampling of aliquots from the treated solutions.
This device (nüve EV018) allows drying carefully fragile samples and performing experiments under vacuum.
This device, developed at ICSM and unique in France, allows probing the inside of the micro-bubbles generated by acoustic cavitation at various ultrasonic frequencies. Sonoluminescence is the light emission from the acoustic bubbles at collapse. The resulting emission spectra bear the signature of the plasma generated inside the bubbles. The sonoluminescence light is collected through a quartz window and imaged onto a UV-Vis spectrometer (SP 2356i, Roper Scientific) coupled to a CCD camera (PyLoN :400BRX_eXcelon, Princeton Instruments).
This spectrometer (ThermoFisher Evo220) has a double beam and is routinely used for the quantitative determination of molecules, ions, or complexes in solution.
This glove box (Jacomex) allows keeping and handling samples and chemicals in an extremely pure atmosphere. It is thus possible to maintain H2O and O2 concentrations below 1 ppm. This glove box has two inert entries on the side and 4 gloves on the front.
This magnetic mass spectrometer (Prima BT, Thermo Fisher) allows the characterization of gases and vapors, like e.g. those emitted during the ultrasonic treatment of various liquid solutions. This device is equipped with a capillary tube placed at the reactor outlet which permits continuous analyses of the gas phase.
