Dissolved Oxygen Redox as the Source of Hydrogen Peroxide and Hydroxyl Radical in Sonicated Emulsive Water Microdroplets
Sonicated emulsive water microdroplets (SEWMs) accelerate and enable a variety of catalyst-free chemical transformations. However, significant unanswered questions remain regarding the chemical intermediates they form and their possible redox origin. In this study, we identified dissolved O2 as the primary originator of reactive oxygen species (ROS) such as OH• and H2O2. We uncovered the role of dissolved O2 redox by using a combination of microelectrochemical methods to detect H2O2, isotopic methods to identify the source of H2O2, and a combination of electron spin resonance and the DMPO spin trap to detect radicals such as OH•. Notably, we found that H2O2more »