Oxidative Decomposition of Organic Compounds by Ozone Microbubbles in Water

Oxidative degradation of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) by ozone microbubbles (O(3)MBs) was investigated in water. Ozone water are generally effective in oxidation reaction with a variety of organic compounds. O(3)MBs have promise to improve the efficiency because it seems that O(3)MBs generates hydroxy radicals, resulting in the higher active oxidative degradation. Herein, oxidative decomposition of PEG by O(3)MBs in water was carried out and the products were characterized by H-1 nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (MALDI-FT-ICR-MS). Through the continuous struggles, decomposition of PEG was promoted by O(3)MBs. It was found that O(3)MBs with hydrogen peroxide added had the largest decomposition effect. The reason has been veiled yet, however, the author reasons that O(3)MBs have promise as the novel degradation system.