Chemists from Stanford University have developed a special setup to test the change
Back in 2019, scientists discovered for the first time thatHydrogen peroxide forms spontaneously in microscopic drops of ordinary water. To understand how this happens, chemists built a glass apparatus with microscopic channels into which water could be poured. The channels formed a sealed boundary between water and solids. Researchers infused water with a fluorescent dye that glows in the presence of hydrogen peroxide.
The experiment showed the formation of an aggressivesubstances in the glass microfluidic channel, but not in the bulk water sample, which also contains the dye. Additional studies have shown that hydrogen peroxide forms within seconds, at the interface between water and solids.
Researchers believe that when droplets hit onsolid surface, an electrical charge "jumps" between two materials, liquid and solid, creating unstable reactive oxygen species. The pairs of these species, the OH hydroxyl radicals, can then combine to form hydrogen peroxide in small but detectable amounts.
Scientists note that spontaneous formationhydrogen peroxide in vivo may explain the seasonality of infectious diseases. In the summer, the higher relative humidity levels in the room, scientists believe, allows the reactive oxygen species in the droplets to have enough time to kill the viruses. In contrast, in winter, when the air inside buildings warms up and its humidity decreases, the droplets evaporate before the reactive oxygen species can act as a disinfectant.
Contact electrification provides chemicalbasis for partially explaining the seasonality of viral respiratory diseases. The new approach to surface disinfection is just one of the important practical consequences of this work related to the fundamental chemistry of water in the environment.
Richard Zare, professor at Stanford University and co-author of the paper
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