Sonoluminescence of Na atom from NaCl solutions doped with ethanol

Sonoluminescence spectra from argon-saturated NaCl solution were measured in the concentration range of 0.5-4 M at the frequency of 138 kHz. The line broadening of sodium atom emission was observed at various acoustic powers in the range from 1.8 to 16.2 W. The sodium D line showed a maximum intensity at a NaCl concentration of 2 M, which corresponded to the maximum production of OH radicals estimated by KI dosimetry. The effects of the addition of a small amount of ethanol on the line width and intensity were closely investigated at various acoustic powers. The sodium line width increases with ethanol concentration and also with power, whereas the line intensity is strongly quenched with increasing ethanol concentration. The results conclusively show that the sodium emission occurs in the gas phase within bubbles. The line broadening is due to interactions with high-pressure argon, and the maximum relative density of gas at bubble collapse was estimated to be 59.5 from the comparison with spectroscopic data. Further line broadening and quenching upon the addition of ethanol arise from collisions with gaseous products obtained from the decomposition of ethanol. The mechanism of sodium excitation is inferred to be as follows. Sodium ions enter bubbles as droplets, and salts are formed because of the high temperature within bubbles. Sodium atoms are generated by the dissociation of salts and then undergo electronic excitation by OH and H radicals.