Sonoluminescence of aqueous solutions of sulfuric acid and sulfur dioxide

Sonoluminescence (SL) of aqueous solutions of sulfuric acid and sulfur dioxide enhances with an increase in their concentration and reaches a maximum at 16 and 0.05 mol L^–1, respectively. The further increase in the concentration of these substances decreases the SL intensity. The SL spectra of the solutions have a broad maximum at 450 nm. Excited SO₂ molecules formed in sulfuric acid due to sonolysis are luminescence emitters. The proposed mechanism of bright SL in these systems is based on the energy transfer from the electron-excited sonolysis products to the SO₂ molecules in cavitation bubbles.