Journal of Physical Chemistry A, Vol.110, No.37, 10720-10724, 2006
Enhancement of sonochemical reaction rate by addition of micrometer-sized air bubbles
The sonochemical reaction rate has been enhanced by the introduction of tiny air bubbles. The bubbles including micrometer-sized ones are produced by method of atomization and are introduced into aqueous luminol solution under 141-kHz sonication in order to investigate the enhancement of sonochemical reaction rate by introduction of tiny bubbles through the intensity measurement of sonochemiluminescence (SCL). It is shown that the introduction of tiny bubbles under sonication accomplishes the large SCL intensity compared to the cases of sonication only and liquid flow under sonication. It is also shown that it is important to adjust the configuration of tiny-bubble addition to the sound field. Through the investigations on the intensity and the spatial pattern of luminol-SCL, it has been clarified that tiny bubbles added into the sonicated liquid not only cause the liquid flow but also increase the number of collapsing bubbles active for sonochemical reaction. It is also shown that the tiny-bubble addition enhances the reaction rate of KI oxidation under sonication. Therefore, the present method of introduction of tiny bubbles is effective for enhancement of sonochemical reaction rate.