Study of single bubble Sonoluminescence in phosphoric acid

Sonoluminescence (SL) radiation from different solutions of phosphoric acid has been studied in the framework of a hydro-chemical simulation. By calculating the phase diagrams of an SL bubble in different concentrations of phosphoric acid, the optimum solution for acquiring maximum SL emission has been specified as the solution of around 30 wt.% acid. It is shown that the SL temperature and the number of particles inside the bubble at the time of SL emission are two important factors determining the optimum solution. Numerical calculation of the SL intensity shows that the optimum solution has an intensity of about 20 times greater than that of water. Also, contributions of different energy sources in creation of thermal energy of the bubble have been calculated. The result indicates that the work of external driving pressure is the most important factor to determine the ultimate thermal energy of the bubble at the time of SL emission. Based on this result, we have reasoned out that in the determination of the optimum solution, the role of viscosity of the acid solutions is more important than the vapor pressure.

Research highlights
► Sonoluminescence in different concentrations of phosphoric is studied.
► A hydro-chemical model is used to calculate phase diagrams of the bubble motion.
► The SL intensity is optimum at a low concentration around 30% acid.
► The work of external pressure is the key energy in determination of the SL temperature.