Hypothesis about electron quantum tunneling during sonochemical splitting of water molecule.

Quantum tunneling in chemistry is often attributed to the processes at low or near room temperatures when the rate of thermal reactions becomes far less than the rate of quantum tunneling. However, in some rapid processes, quantum tunneling can be observed even at high temperatures. Herein, we report the experimental evidence for anomalous H/D kinetic isotope effect (KIE) during sonochemical dissociation of water molecule driven by 20 kHz power ultrasound measured in HO/DO mixtures saturated with Ar or Xe.