Low concentrations of short chain aliphatic alcohols and organic acids and bases suppress single-bubble sonoluminescence (SBSL) in water. The degree of SL quenching increases with the length of the aliphatic end of the alcohol, and is related to the concentration of the alcohol at the bubble/water interface. The light is preferentially quenched in the shorter wavelength region of the spectrum. Radius−time measurements of the bubble are not dramatically affected by the low levels of alcohol used. Butyric acid and propylamine behave in the same manner, but only in their neutral forms, indicating that the SBSL suppression is due to processes occurring within the bubble.

The global energy crisis is increasing the demand for innovative materials with high purity and functionality for the development of clean energy production and storage. The development of novel photo- and electrocatalysts significantly depends on synthetic techniques that facilitate the production of tailored advanced nanomaterials. The emerging use of pulsed laser in liquid synthesis has attracted immense interest as an effective synthetic technology with several advantages over conventional chemical and physical synthetic routes, including the fine-tuning of size, composition, surface, and crystalline structures, and defect densities and is associated with the catalytic, electronic, thermal, optical, and mechanical properties of the produced nanomaterials. Herein, we present an overview of the fundamental understanding and importance of the pulsed laser process, namely various roles and mechanisms involved in the production of various types of nanomaterials, such as metal nanoparticles, oxides, non-oxides, and carbon-based materials. We mainly cover the advancement of photo- and electrocatalytic nanomaterials via pulsed laser-assisted technologies with detailed mechanistic insights and structural optimization along with effective catalytic performances in various energy and environmental remediation processes. Finally, the future directions and challenges of pulsed laser techniques are briefly underlined. This review can exert practical guidance for the future design and fabrication of innovative pulsed laser-induced nanomaterials with fascinating properties for advanced catalysis applications.

Sonochemistry is a relatively new term that arrived on the scene in the late 1970s and was then simply defined as the uses of ultrasound in chemistry and processing. Ultrasound is part of the overall sound spectrum, but is generally classified as sound beyond the frequency that can be detected by the human ear. Sometimes called “silent sound” it ranges from 20 kHz to 10 MHz within which it can be roughly subdivided into three main regions: low frequency, high power ultrasound (20–100 kHz); intermediate frequency, medium power ultrasound (100 kHz–1 MHz); and high frequency, low power ultrasound (1–10 MHz). The range from 20 kHz to 1 MHz is generally used in sonochemistry, whereas frequencies > 1 MHz are more commonly used in nondestructive testing and medicine. The driving force for sonochemistry is acoustic cavitation, which is the formation of small cavities in a fluid produced by ultrasound that undergo highly energetic collapse. A number of text books have been published that explore different aspects of sonochemistry. This article aims to provide the readers with a fundamental understanding of acoustic cavitation and its associated physical and chemical effects. Detailed information on the events that are involved in acoustic cavitation is discussed in the first section. Among the major effects generated by acoustic cavitation is Sonoluminescence and Sonochemistry, but only brief information is provided on the former since it is not the primary focus of this article. The majority of the discussion is focused upon Sonochemistry within which reactions have been subdivided into different categories, as suggested in the literature. Although sonochemistry is useful for a variety of applications, two areas that are particularly prominent are materials synthesis and the degradation of organic pollutants.