Search

Basic emission fingerprints of nanosecond discharges produced in deionized water by fast rise-time positive high-voltage pulses (duration of 6 ns and amplitude of  +100 kV) in a point-to-plane electrode geometry were investigated by means of time-resolved intensified charge-coupled device (ICCD) spectroscopy. Time-resolved emission spectra were measured via ICCD kinetic series during the discharge ignition and later phases over the 350–850 nm spectral range with fixed, either 3 ns or 30 ns, acquisition time and with 3 ns or 30 ns time resolution, respectively. The luminous phase of the initial discharge expansion and its subsequent collapse was characterized by a broadband vis-NIR continuum emission evolving during the first few nanoseconds which shifted more toward the UV with further increase of time. After ~30 ns from the discharge onset, the continuum gradually disappeared followed by the emission of Hα and OI atomic lines. The electron densities calculated from the Hα profile fit were estimated to be of the order of 1018–1019 cm−3. It is unknown if the Hα and OI atomic lines are generated even in earlier times (before ~30 ns) because such signals were not detectable due to the superposition with the strong continuum. However, subsequent events caused by the reflected HV pulses were observed to have significant effects on the emission spectra profiles of the nanosecond discharge. By varying the time delay of the reflected pulse from 45 to 90 ns after the primary pulse, the intensities of the Hα/OI atomic lines in the emission spectra of the secondary discharges were clearly visible and their intensities were greater with shorter time delay between primary and reflected pulses. These results indicate that the discharges generated due to the reflected pulses were very likely generated in the non-relaxed environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We employed the techniques of time-resolved intensified charge-coupled device (ICCD) microscopy and spectroscopy to register basic morphologic and emission fingerprints of micro-discharges produced in deionized water. Fast rise-time positive high-voltage pulses (full width at half maximum of ∼7 ns and amplitude of ∼100 kV) in a point-to-plane electrode geometry produced micro-discharges, either periodically or in a single-pulse regime with the energy of ∼0.1 J dissipated during a single discharge event. Time resolved ICCD images evidence typical streamer-like branched filamentary morphology. Luminous discharge filaments show very fast and approximately linear initial expansion of the length with propagation velocity of ∼2 × 105 m s−1. When the HV pulse reaches its maximum value, the length of the primary luminous filaments reaches ∼1.3 mm. After initial expansion, the length of luminous filaments collapses and can be characterised by velocity of ∼1.9 × 104 m s−1. The first collapse is followed by a second slightly slower expansion, which is driven by the arrival of a reflected HV pulse, and which can be roughly approximated by propagation velocity of ∼1.5 × 105 m s−1. The second collapse (occurring after second expansion) proceeds at a nearly identical velocity compared with the first one. By combining two ICCD based techniques, we have been able to associate, for the first time ever, characteristic emission spectra with the most important phases of the micro-discharge development. The UV–vis-NIR emission spectra show a broad-band continuum evolving during the first expansion and collapse, followed by the well-known HI/OI atomic lines occurring together with continuum emission during the second expansion and collapse. We conclude that bound–free and free–free radiative transitions are basic emission characteristics of the nanosecond discharge initiation mechanism in liquid water which does not involve the formation of vapour bubbles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inactivation of Escherichia coli by means of surface streamer discharge has been investigated to obtain new insights into the key mechanisms involved, with a particular emphasis placed on the microbial response to plasma-induced stress. The surface streamer discharge was produced in coplanar dielectric barrier discharge electrode geometry, and was driven by an amplitude-modulated ac high voltage in humid synthetic air at atmospheric pressure. The response to plasma-induced stress was evaluated by using conventional cultivation, sublethal injury and resazurin assay and the LIVE/DEAD® BacLight™ Bacterial Viability kit. Compared to conventional cultivation, the LIVE/DEAD® test labels bacteria with damaged membranes, while resazurin assay tracks their metabolic activity. Our results clearly demonstrate that the treated bacteria partly lost their ability to grow properly, i.e. they became injured and culturable, or even viable but nonculturable (VBNC). The ability to develop colonies could have been lost due to damage of the bacterial membrane. Damage of the membranes was mainly caused by the lipid peroxidation, evidencing the key role of oxygen reactive species, in particular ozone. We conclude that the conventional cultivation method overestimates the decontamination efficiency of various plasma sources, and must therefore be complemented by alternative techniques capable of resolving viable but nonculturable bacteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]