Objectives(a) enhance the students' knowledge in the sonochemistry subject area (b) enable students to gain skills and knowledge which will equip them for careers in their chosen and associated subject areas but especially in research (c) enable students to achieve the academic standards which will enable them to pursue an MPhil or PhD.
Entry requirementsSuccessful applicants must normally hold at least a lower second Honours degree in a related subject. Applicants with a lower class of degree and/or from outside of these areas will be considered individually and are usually interviewed prior to being offered a place. Applicants without a first degree, but who have relevant work experience, are also considered on an individual basis.
Academic titleSonochemistry Master in Science by Research
Course descriptionThere is a growing interest in the use of power ultrasound in chemistry and associated processing industries. This broad based technology has become known as sonochemistry, which is now widely accepted as the generic term for such studies. In 1994 Elsevier dedicated a Journal to the study (Ultrasonics Sonochemistry - with Professor Mason as Senior Editor) and Sonochemistry has also been referenced in a science supplement to Encyclopedia Britannica.
Sonochemistry at Coventry has been a research field for more than 25 years. Starting as a group within the Department of Chemistry the nucleus of the team has remained in this subject area. The group itself has expanded in keeping with the demands on it from outside so that it now has more than 8 academic staff from various disciplines actively associated with it.
Future prospects
The formation of the Sonochemistry Centre has placed the University in an excellent position to attract not only MSc by Research students but also those wishing to pursue MPhil's and PhD's. It has also attracted associated outside research and development contracts.
Course content
There is no doubt that within the U.K. Coventry University is considered to have a group which is a national leader in sonochemistry as exemplified in a RAE rating of 4 in December 2001. This has confirmed an earlier independent survey commissioned by the DTI which classified sonochemistry as a "Hub Technology" this being a technology of potential use in more than one industrial sector in the next generation of "cleaner" processes.
Typical research projects are: Molar Mass Distribution In Sonically Enhanced Emulsion Polymerisation; The Effect of Ultrasound in Combination with uv Radiation and/or Electrolysis for the Biological Decontamination of Potable Water; The Effect of Ultrasound on the Efficiency of Extraction of Anti-Oxidant Materials from Plants; The Effect of Ultrasound on Metal Plating; The Effect of Ultrasound on the Properties of Membranes