Exposing nanobubble-like objects to a degassed environment

Abstract

The primary attribute of interest of surface nanobubbles is their unusual stability and a number of theories trying to explain this have been put forward. Interestingly, the dissolution of nanobubbles is a topic that did not receive a lot of attention yet. In this work we applied two different experimental procedures which should cause gaseous nanobubbles to completely dissolve. In our experiments we nucleated nanobubble-like objects by putting a drop of water on HOPG using a plastic syringe and a disposable needle. In method A, the nanobubble-like objects were exposed to a flow of degassed water (1.17 mg l⁻¹) for 96 hours. In method B, the ambient pressure was lowered in order to degas the liquid and the nanobubble-like objects. Interestingly, the nanobubble-like objects remained stable after exposure to both methods. After thorough investigation of the procedures and materials used during our experiments, we found that the nanobubble-like objects were induced by the use of disposable needles in which PDMS contaminated the water. It is very important for the nanobubble community to be aware of the fact that, although features look and behave like nanobubbles, in some cases they might in fact be induced by contamination. The presence of contamination could also resolve some inconsistencies found in the nanobubble literature.