From Bubbles to Nanobubbles

Nanomaterials (Basel). 2021 Oct 1;11(10):2592. doi: 10.3390/nano11102592.

Abstract

Nanobubbles are classified into surface and bulk. The main difference between them is that the former is immobile, whereas the latter is mobile. The existence of sNBs has already been proven by atomic force microscopy, but the existence of bNBs is still open to discussion; there are strong indications, however, of its existence. The longevity of NBs is a long-standing problem. Theories as to the stability of sNBs reside on their immobile nature, whereas for bNBs, the landscape is not clear at the moment. In this preliminary communication, we explore the possibility of stabilizing a bNB by Brownian motion. It is shown that a fractal walk under specific conditions may leave the size of the bubble invariant.

Keywords: dispersed-air; dissolved-air; effluents; electroflotation; particles; wastewaters.