Effect of dissolved-gas concentration on bulk nanobubbles generation using ultrasonication

In this study, the effects of dissolved-gas concentration in liquid water on the nucleation and growth of bubbles and nanobubble (NB) generation were investigated by measuring the concentration and size distribution of NBs. Three types of liquids with different dissolved-gas concentrations—undersaturated, saturated, and supersaturated deionized (DI) water—were prepared, and NBs were generated via ultrasonic irradiation. As the dissolved-gas concentration increased, a large number of bubbles with relatively large diameters (several tens of micrometers or more) were generated, but the NB concentration decreased. The surface tension decreased with an increase in the dissolved gas concentration, and thus, the tensile strength which required for bubble growth became lower. Therefore, there were barely any NBs in supersaturated conditions because of the accelerated nucleation and bubble growth.