This talk will describe microdroplet chemistry, the studies on behaviors of water and chemical reactions occurring in micron-sized water droplets (microdroplets), and its application to energy, environment, and biomedical applications. We found that water molecules are rendered to be electrochemically active and catalytic when bulk water is formed into microdroplets. Reactive oxygen species (ROS), including hydrogen peroxide, hydroxyl radical, and superoxide, are spontaneously generated in water microdroplets. These unique properties are in part induced by the intrinsic interfacial electric field formed at the water microdroplet surface. The ROS generated from water microdroplets is capable of disinfecting bacteria, such as <i>E. Coli</i> and Salmonella, with over 99.99% efficacy. Electrons generated from the spontaneous ROS oxidation process allow the reduction of gold ions and organic molecules to form the self-assembly of nanostructures. In addition, various biomolecular reactions, including protein unfolding, protein-ligand interaction, and chlorophyll demetallation, are markedly accelerated in microdroplets by the factor of 10<sup>6</sup> or higher in microdroplets. Moreover, microdroplets allow overcoming entropic barriers for thermodynamically unfavorable reactions, for instance, the phosphorylation reaction and RNA synthesis without any enzyme or ATP energy source. In this talk, I will describe the application of microdroplet chemistry to various biomedical fields, including the disinfection of coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) using water microdroplets, green food processing, energy storage and conversion, and artificial photosynthesis.

Microdroplet chemistry for energy, environment, and biomedical applications

ACS Spring 2022

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