Sonoluminescence, Sonochemistry and Bubble Dynamics of Single Bubble Cavitation

The amount of hydroxyl radicals produced from a single cavitation bubble was quantified by terephthalate dosimetry at various frequencies and pressure amplitudes, while the dynamics of the single bubble was observed by stroboscopic and light-scattering methods. Also, sonoluminescence (SL), sonochemiluminescence (SCL) of luminol, and sodium atom emission (Na*) in the cavitation field were observed. The amount of hydroxyl radicals per cycle as well as the intensity of SL was proportional to pressure amplitude at every frequency performed, and it decreased with increasing frequency. When the single bubble was dancing with a decrease in pressure amplitude, however, the amount of hydroxyl radicals was greater than that for the stable bubble at the higher pressure amplitude and did not significantly decrease with frequency. Furthermore, SCL and Na* were detected only under unstable bubble conditions. These results imply that the instability of bubbles significantly enhances sonochemical efficiency for nonvolatile substances in liquid phase.