Theoretical study of single-bubble sonochemistry.

Numerical simulations of bubble oscillations in liquid water irradiated by an ultrasonic wave are performed under the experimental condition for single-bubble sonochemistry reported by Didenko and Suslick [Nature (London) 418, 394 (2002)]. The calculated number of OH radicals dissolving into the surrounding liquid from the interior of the bubble agrees sufficiently with the experimental data. OH radicals created inside a bubble at the end of the bubble collapse gradually dissolve into the surrounding liquid during the contraction phase of an ultrasonic wave although about 30% of the total amount of OH radicals that dissolve into the liquid in one acoustic cycle dissolve in 0.1 micros at around the end of the collapse. The calculated results have indicated that the oxidant produced by a bubble is not only OH radical but also O atom and H2O2. It is suggested that an appreciable amount of O atom is produced by bubbles inside a standing-wave-type sonochemical reactor filled with water in which oxygen is dissolved as in the case of air.