Sonoluminescence from aqueous alcohol and surfactant solutions

Abstract

The sonoluminescence generated in water with pulsed 515 kHz ultrasound has been studied in the presence of different chain length (C1-C5) aliphatic alcohols and the surfactants sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), dodecyltrimethylammonium chloride (DTAC), and N-dodecyl-N,N-dimethyl-3-ammonio-1-propanesulfonate (DAPS). The ultrasound pulse widths used ranged from 1 to 10 ms, with duty cycles (on/off ratios) of 1:3 to 1:9. It was found that the sonoluminescence from the initial pulses was very low but increased in intensity and reached a maximum after 20-50 pulses, for all systems studied, depending on the pulse width and duty cycle. In the presence of alcohol the maximum signal decreased with increa..