Herein, we report the sonochemical reactions with MSU-X mesoporous alumina (m-Al(2)O(3)) in aqueous solutions. Sonication (f=20 kHz, I=30 Wcm(-2), W(aq)=0.67 WmL(-1), T=36-38 degrees C, Ar) causes significant acceleration of m-Al(2)O(3) dissolution in the pH range of 4-11. Moreover, power ultrasound has a dramatic effect on the textural properties and phase composition of m-Al(2)O(3). Short-time sonication at pH = 4 leads to the formation of nanorods and nanofibers of boehmite, AlO(OH). Prolonged ultrasonic treatment causes high aspect morphology transformation to aggregated nanosheets in weakly acid solutions or plated nanocrystals in alkaline solutions. Sonochemical products in alkaline medium are composed principally from boehmite and small amounts of bayerite, Al(OH)(3). Silent hydrolysis of m-Al(2)O(3) yields boehmite at pH = 4 and bayerite at pH = 11. The effect of ultrasound on the textural properties of mesoporous alumina as well as on the transformation of nanosized bayerite to boehmite can be consistently attributed to the transient strong heating of the liquid shell surrounding the cavitation bubble which caused the chemical processes similar to those occurred during hydrothermal treatment.

In this study, we report a rapid sonochemical synthesis of monodisperse nonaggregated Fe(3)O(4)@SiO(2) magnetic nanoparticles (NPs). We found that coprecipitation of Fe(II) and Fe(III) in aqueous solutions under the effect of power ultrasound yields smaller Fe(3)O(4) NPs with a narrow size distribution (4-8 nm) compared to the silent reaction. Moreover, the coating of Fe(3)O(4) NPs with silica using an alkaline hydrolysis of tetraethyl orthosilicate in ethanol-water mixture is accelerated many-fold in the presence of a 20 kHz ultrasonic field. The thickness of the silica shell can be easily controlled in the range of several nanometers during sonication. Mossbauer spectra revealed that nonsuperparamagnetic behavior of obtained core-shell NPs is mostly related to the dipole-dipole interactions of magnetic cores and not to the particle size effect. Core-shell Fe(3)O(4)@SiO(2) NPs prepared with sonochemistry exhibit a higher magnetization value than that for NPs obtained under silent conditions owing to better control of the deposited silica quantities as well as to the high speed of sonochemical coating, which prevents the magnetite from oxidizing.

The sorption of selenite ions onto Fe3O4 and Fe/Fe3C nanoparticles (NPs) was studied in aqueous solutions under anoxic conditions using gamma spectrometry and X-ray absorption spectrometry (XAS) techniques. This is the first study related to the remedial applications of Fe/Fe3C NPs. FesO4 NPs have been prepared by conventional coprecipitation of Fe(II) and Fe(III) in basic solutions. Stable Fe/Fe3C NPs have been prepared by Fe(CO)5 sonicating in diphenylmethane solutions and subsequently annealing the as-prepared product. Kinetic study demonstrated that Se(IV) sorption is extremely rapid: the equilibrium is reached in approximately 10 and 30 min for Fe3O4 and Fe/Fe3C NPs, respectively, at pH = 4.9-5.1 in solutions of 0.1 M NaCl. The distribution coefficients are also very high for both kinds of NPs (Kd > 3000). Increasing the pH to 10.3 or adsorption of organic ligands, like L-lysine or dodecanoate, at the surface of NPs causes the decrease in Kd values. However, even in these cases Kd values exceed 150. Magnetic NPs loaded with selenium can be easily and completely removed from solution with a 0.4 T permanent magnet. XAS study revealed the absence of Se(IV) reduction during the sorption onto Fe3O4 NPs in the pH range of 4.8-8.0. By contrast, the removal of Se(IV) with Fe/Fe3C NPs in anaerobic conditions occurs via Se(IV) reduction to Se(-II) and subsequent formation of iron selenide at the particle surface. Thus, the Fe/Fe3C NPs are superior to Fe3O4 NPs due to their ability to immobilize rapidly and irreversibly Se(IV) via reductive mechanism. Presumably these particles could be also effective for the removal of other contaminants such as hexavalent chromium, actinides, technetium, and toxic organic compounds.

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Amorphous WS2 has been prepared by ultrasound irradiation of W(CO)6 solution in diphenylmethane (DPhM) in the presence of a slight excess of sulfur at 90 °C under argon. Heating the amorphous powder at 800 °C under argon yields WS2 nanorods and their packings. The average size of WS2 nanorods was found to be 3–10 nm and 1–5 µm in thickness and length, respectively. The prepared WS2 has been characterized by elemental analysis, X-ray powder diffraction measurements, FTIR spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray analysis.

A coating of iron carbide and carbon confers air-stability on the nanocrystalline iron particles that were prepared by sonolysis of [Fe(CO)5] in diphenylmethane followed by annealing of the as-prepared material. The saturation magnetization of this material (222 emu g−1, see picture) is almost as high as that of bulk bcc iron.