Abstract
Irradiation with UV-C band ultraviolet light is one of the most commonly used ways of disinfecting water contaminated by pathogens such as bacteria and viruses. Sonoluminescence, the emission of light from acoustically-induced collapse of air bubbles in water, is an efficient means of generating UV-C light. However, because a spherical bubble collapsing in the bulk of water creates isotropic radiation, the generated UV-C light fluence is insufficient for disinfection. Here we show, based on detailed theoretical modelling and rigorous simulations, that it should be possible to create a UV light beam from aspherical air bubble collapse near a gallium-based liquid-metal microparticle. The beam is perpendicular to the metal surface and is caused by the interaction of sonoluminescence light with UV plasmon modes of the metal. We estimate that such beams can generate fluences exceeding 10 mJ/cm2, which is sufficient to irreversibly inactivate most common pathogens in water with the turbidity of more than 5 Nephelometric Turbidity Units.
Highlights
Irradiation with UV-C band ultraviolet light is one of the most commonly used ways of disinfecting water contaminated by pathogens such as bacteria and viruses
UV-C light inactivates pathogens through absorption of radiation energy by their cellular RNA and DNA prompting the formation of new bonds between adjacent nucleotides
Air bubbles suitable for sonoluminescence are often present in natural water[6,7] and their concentration can be increased, for example, by using bubble diffusers[8]. We show that such bubbles could act as compact sources of germicidal radiation located several optical wavelengths away from pathogens. This means that shielding of pathogens by particles suspended in water would be greatly reduced, but small distances travelled by UV-C light between the source and pathogens would result in negligible absorption losses
Summary
Irradiation with UV-C band ultraviolet light is one of the most commonly used ways of disinfecting water contaminated by pathogens such as bacteria and viruses. The beam is perpendicular to the metal surface and is caused by the interaction of sonoluminescence light with UV plasmon modes of the metal We estimate that such beams can generate fluences exceeding 10 mJ/cm[2], which is sufficient to irreversibly inactivate most common pathogens in water with the turbidity of more than 5 Nephelometric Turbidity Units. Air bubbles suitable for sonoluminescence are often present in natural water[6,7] and their concentration can be increased, for example, by using bubble diffusers[8] We show that such bubbles could act as compact sources of germicidal radiation located several optical wavelengths away from pathogens. This means that shielding of pathogens by particles suspended in water would be greatly reduced, but small distances travelled by UV-C light between the source and pathogens would result in negligible absorption losses
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