Ultrasound, i.e. high frequency oscillating pressure waves, was used to achieve transient reorganization of supramolecular peptide nanostructures, which revert back to the original state when sound is switched off.

We demonstrate an in situ ultrasonic approach to influence self-assembly across the supramolecular to micron length scales, showing enhancement of supramolecular interactions, chirality and orientation, which depends on the peptide sequence and solvent environment. This is the first successful demonstration of using oscillating pressure waves to generate anisotropic organo- and hydrogels consisting of oriented tripeptides structures.

Applications involving high-power ultrasound are expanding rapidly as ultrasonic intensification opportunities are identified in new fields. This is facilitated through new technological developments and an evolution of current systems to tackle challenging problems. It is therefore important to continually update both the scientific and commercial communities on current system performance and limitations. To achieve this objective, this paper addresses two key aspects of high-power ultrasonic systems. In the first part, the review of high-power applications focuses on industrial applications and documents the developing technology from its early cleaning applications through to the advanced sonochemistry, cutting, and water treatment applications used today. The second part provides a comprehensive overview of measurement techniques used in conjunction with high-power ultrasonic systems. This is an important and evolving field which enables design and process engineers to optimize the behavior and/or operation of key metrics of system performance, such as field distribution or cavitation intensity.

A novel ultrasonic reactor was designed based on the optimization of acoustic dynamics of its geometry. The reactor relies on 3 frequencies of operation to achieve greater cavitation coverage and greater sonochemical efficiency through more intense bubble collapse. The cavitating region of the vessel is evaluated using a passive acoustic emission hydrophone as well as aluminium foil erosion tests. Results indicate agreement between aluminium foil erosion and broadband acoustic emission from the hydrophone. Erosion results provide validation for multiple frequency reactor design approach in terms of maximizing the cavitating region.