Chemistry Under Extreme Conditions in Water Induced Electrohydraulic Cavitation and Pulsed-Plasma Discharges

The introduction of high power ultrasound (i.e., sound energy with frequencies in the range 15 kHz to 1 MHz) into liquid reaction mixtures is known to cause a variety of chemical transformations [ 1-47]. The chemical effects of ultrasound on chemical reactions were first reported by Richards and Loomis [48] in 1927. This early report was followed by a detailed investigation of the catalytic effect of ultrasonic irradiation on the autoxidation of the iodide ion [49]. Since then, the application of ultrasound as a catalyst in chemical synthesis has become an important field of research as described by Mason in Chapter 8.