Ion-Specific and Thermal Effects in the Stabilization of the Gas Nanobubble Phase in Bulk Aqueous Electrolyte Solutions.

Ion-stabilized nanobubbles in bulk aqueous solutions of various electrolytes were investigated. To understand the ion-specific mechanism of nanobubble stabilization, an approach based on the Poisson--Boltzmann equation at the nanobubble interface and in the near-surface layer was developed. It has been shown that the stabilization of nanobubbles is realized by the adsorption of chaotropic anions at the interface, whereas the influence of cosmotropic cations is weak.

Formation and Dynamics of Ion-Stabilized Gas Nanobubble Phase in the Bulk of Aqueous NaCl Solutions.

Ion-stabilized gas nanobubbles (the so-termed "bubstons") and their clusters are investigated in bulk aqueous solutions of NaCl at different ion concentrations by four independent laser diagnostic methods. It turned out that in the range of NaCl concentration 10(-6) < C < 1 M the radius of bubston remains virtually unchanged at a value of 100 nm. Bubstons and their clusters are a thermodynamically nonequilibrium phase, which has been demonstrated in experiments with magnetic stirrer at different stirring rates.