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The input power of a CO 2 microwave plasma is modulated at kHz rate in scans of duty cycle at constant average power to investigate gas heating dynamics and its relation to dissociation efficiency. Rotational temperature profiles obtained from rotational Raman scattering reveal peak temperatures of up to 3000 , while the edge temperature remains cold (500 ). During the plasma 'OFF'-period, the gas cools down convectively, but remains overall too hot to allow for strong overpopulation of vibrational modes (2200 in the core). Fast optical imaging monitors plasma volume variations and shows that power density scales with peak power. As dissociation scales with observed peak rotational temperature, it is concluded that thermal processes dominate. A simple 0D model is constructed which explains how higher power density favors dissociation over radial energy transport. Thermal decomposition is reviewed in relation to quenching oxygen radicals with vibrationally excited CO 2, to reflect on earlier reported record efficiencies of 90%.

The production of OH in a nanosecond pulsed filamentary discharge generated in pin–pin geometry in a He–H2O mixture is studied by time and spatially resolved laser-induced fluorescence. Apart from the OH density the gas temperature and the electron density are also measured. Depending on the applied voltage the discharge is in a different mode. The maximum electron densities in the low- (1.3 kV) and high-density (5 kV) modes are 2 × 1021 m−3 and 7 × 1022 m−3, respectively. The gas temperature in both modes does not exceed 600 K. In the low-density mode the maximum OH density is at the centre of the discharge filament, while in the high-density mode the largest OH density is observed on the edge of the discharge. A chemical model is used to obtain an estimate of the absolute OH density. The chemical model also shows that charge exchange and dissociative recombination can explain the production of OH in the case of the high-density mode.

Pattern formation in the anode layer at a water electrode in atmospheric pressure glow discharges in air is studied. With increasing current a sequence of different anode spot structures occurs from a constricted homogeneous spot in the case of small currents to a pattern consisting of small distinct spots for larger currents. The dependence of the number of spots on the current is (18.5+0.4N) mA with N the number of spots. The spots group together and form stripe patterns. Disappearance of the spots with increasing conductivity of the electrode seems to indicate that mechanisms of electrical nature govern the phenomenon. Similarities and differences with other experiments and models revealing pattern formation in glow discharges are discussed.

No abstract.

In this contribution, nanosecond pulsed discharges in N2 and N2/0.9% H2O at atmospheric pressure (at 300 K) are studied with time-resolved imaging, optical emission spectroscopy and Rayleigh scattering. A 170 ns high-voltage pulse is applied across two pin-shaped electrodes at a frequency of 1 kHz. The discharge consists of three phases: an ignition phase, a spark phase and a recombination phase. During the ignition phase the emission is mainly caused by molecular nitrogen (N2(C–B)). In the spark and recombination phase mainly atomic nitrogen emission is observed. The emission when H2O is added is very similar, except the small contribution of H α and the intensity of the molecular N2(C–B) emission is less. The gas temperature during the ignition phase is about 350 K, during the discharge the gas temperature increases and is 1 µs after ignition equal to 750 K. The electron density is obtained by the broadening of the N emission line at 746 nm and, if water is added, the H α line. The electron density reaches densities up to 4 × 1024 m−3. Addition of water has no significant influence on the gas temperature and electron density. The diagnostics used in this study are described in detail and the validity of different techniques is compared with previously reported results of other groups.

Rayleigh scattering is used to determine the gas temperature of an atmospheric pressure dc excited glow discharge in air with a water electrode. The obtained temperatures are compared with calculated rotational temperatures measured by optical emission spectroscopy of OH(A–X) and N2(C–B). At a current of 15 mA a deviation is found between Trot(OH) and the gas temperature obtained from Rayleigh scattering of about 1000 K. The gas temperatures obtained from Rayleigh scattering, N2(C) and OH(A) in the positive column are, respectively, 2600 ± 100 K, 2700 ± 150 K and 3600 ± 200 K. It is shown that the rotational temperature of N2(C) is a reliable measurement of the gas temperature while this is not the case for OH(A). The results are explained in the context of quenching processes of the excited states. Spatially resolved gas temperatures in both longitudinal and radial directions are presented. The observed strong temperature gradients near the electrodes are checked to be consistent with the power dissipation and the heat transfer in the discharge. The effect of the polarity of the water electrode and filamentation on the measured temperatures is discussed.

The positive column of dc excited atmospheric pressure glow discharges in a metal pin–water electrode system is investigated in air, N2, He, Ar, N2O, CO2 and He–N2 mixtures. The electric field and the plasma temperatures in the positive column are measured and the effect of the filling gas on the optical emission is examined. Estimates of the electron temperature and density and the observed emission properties indicate that the formation processes of the excited dissociation fragments of H2O are due to recombination processes rather than direct electron excitation. Deviation from a Boltzmann rotational population distribution of OH(A) is observed in all gases due to the formation process of OH(A). In the case of He the non-Boltzmann behaviour is more pronounced which can be caused by the lower gas temperature as a higher gas temperature leads to more thermalization of the rotational population distribution of OH(A). The results in this paper suggest that vibrational energy transfer contributes to the non-Boltzmann distribution of OH(A). The temperature corresponding to the small rotational numbers of OH(A) can be used as an estimate of the gas temperature.

In this contribution, optical emission spectroscopy is evaluated and thoroughly analysed as a diagnostic to characterize plasmas in and in contact with liquids. One of the specific properties of plasmas in and in contact with liquids is the strong emission of OH(A?X) and of hydrogen lines. As an example a 600?ns pulsed dc excited discharge in Ar, He and O2 bubbles in water is investigated by time resolved optical emission spectroscopy. It is shown that the production processes of excited species and the plasma kinetics strongly influence the emission spectrum. This complicates the interpretation of the spectra but provides the opportunity to derive production mechanisms from the time resolved emission. The importance of recombination processes compared with direct electron excitation processes in the production of excited states of the water fragments in plasmas with high electron densities is shown. The OH(A?X) emission spectrum illustrates that even in these highly collisional atmospheric pressure discharges the rotational population distribution deviates from equilibrium. A two-temperature fit of the OH rotational population distribution leads to realistic gas temperatures for the temperature parameter corresponding to small rotational numbers. The H? and H? lines are fitted with two component profiles corresponding to two different electron densities. The obtained electron density is in the range 1021?1023?m?3. Possible complications in the interpretation of obtained temperatures and electron densities are discussed.

The time-resolved OH density in a nanosecond pulsed filamentary discharge in an atmospheric pressure He–H2O(0.05%) mixture is measured using laser induced fluorescence. The lifetime of the excited OH(A) state is found to be strongly time dependent during the plasma pulse, with the shortest decay time occurring at the moment the plasma is switched off. The measured LIF intensity is corrected for this time-resolved quenching and calibrated using Rayleigh scattering. Time-resolved electron density , He (3S1) metastable density , gas temperature and optical emission are presented and used in the interpretation of the observed time dependence of the OH density. Based on these experimental data, it is shown that for the present discharge conditions, OH is mainly produced by charge transfer reactions to water followed by dissociative recombination of the water ion. In addition, two often encountered issues with the calibration of OH LIF are highlighted with an example.

Time and spatially resolved OH densities are determined in a nanosecond pulsed filamentary discharge in N2–H2O for varying water concentration using laser-induced fluorescence (LIF). The OH densities are absolutely calibrated using Rayleigh scattering. A dip in the LIF signal is found at the centre of the filament. In the case of 2.6% H2O a remarkable increase in OH density is found in the far afterglow and is discussed in analogy with the pink splash or pink afterglow. It is believed that the large amount of energy released in the recombination of atomic nitrogen plays an important role in the production of OH in the far afterglow.