Noble gas dependence of single-bubble sonoluminescence in phosphoric acid

Single-bubble sonoluminescence (SL) from a concentrated solution of phosphoric acid doped with various noble gases has been studied using a hydrochemical model. The results indicate that in agreement with experiment, the SL temperature increases with the atomic mass of the noble gases. Also, both the temperature and the intensity of SL are remarkably higher for lower partial pressures of a noble gas. Our calculations show that the maximum acquirable SL intensity from phosphoric acid is considerably greater than that of water. This mainly originates from the lower vapor pressure and the higher viscosity of phosphoric acid relative to water making the instability mechanisms completely different for these liquids.

► Sonoluminescence (SL) radiation from a concentrated phosphoric acid solution has been simulated.
► The SL temperature is shown to increase with the atomic mass of noble gases.
► The difference between the noble gases is more remarkable at lower partial pressures of the gases.
► Both the temperature and the intensity of SL decrease with increment of the noble gas partial pressure in acid.
► The range of 6000–10 000 K is obtained for the SL temperature at relatively high partial pressures of the noble gases in the acid.