Mitsubishi Electric Achieves World’s First Mechanism for Elucidating Ozone Oxidation Enhanced with Negative Ions

Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (TOKYO: 6503) announced today that in collaboration with Professor Toshiaki Kamachi and colleagues from the School of Life Science and Technology at Institute of Science Tokyo (Science Tokyo) they have achieved the world’s first mechanism for elucidating the combined use of negative ions to enhance the oxidative action of ozone. In their joint study, they discovered that dissolving negative ions in the moisture surrounding viruses and other microorganisms lowers the pH due to nitrate-containing components derived from the negative ions, which in turn enhances the oxidative action of ozone in the moisture, enabling a strong reduction of viruses and bacteria even at low ozone concentrations. Mitsubishi Electric confirmed the reduction of bacteria and odors in low ozone concentrations of 50 parts per billion (ppb) in addition to specific viruses reported previously.

Buildings are becoming more airtight and better insulated, raising concerns about inadequate indoor ventilation and unhygienic conditions. Ozone’s oxidative action has traditionally been used to maintain indoor hygiene, but ozone alone has faced challenges in terms of the durability and stability of its sanitizing effects. It is also known that ozone’s reduction of viruses and bacteria increases when used with negative ions and varies with pH. However, the specific chemical species of the negative ions and their pH-controlling effects had not been clarified.

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