Ultrasound makes nano-waves, generating ‘green’ radicals

Researchers have discovered a unique mechanism to form free radicals from water using high-frequency ultrasound.¹

Sonochemistry studies how soundwaves spark chemical reactions. Mechanical waves can trigger the formation of microbubbles that release a massive amount of energy when they implode – a phenomenon known as cavitation. Within the bubbles temperature and pressure increase rapidly, leading to the formation of free radicals and producing chemical transformations, such as water splitting.² However, chemical engineers have now observed the generation of radicals without cavitation, something that, so far, had only been theorised.³