Effect of Mirror Magnetic Field on Abnormal Glow Discharge of Four-Anode Device

Abstract In the four-anode device, the mirror magnetic field affects the characteristics of charged particles motion, so that the current-voltage relations of glow discharge are changed. Firstly, the discharge device is introduced, and the distribution of mirror magnetic field generated by the loops surrounding the discharge chamber is presented. Both the discharge current-voltage characteristics and the radial distributions of electron density are measured, respectively, with/without the magnetic field. When the discharge occurs in a 99.99% helium with a pressure ranging from 100 Pa to 800 Pa without magnetic field, the voltage, sustaining a certain abnormal glow discharge current, decreases with the increase in gas pressure. With a mirror magnetic field of certain intensity, the discharge voltage increases with the current in a rate slower than that without the magnetic field. Moreover, when the magnetic field intensity increases, the discharge voltage first decreases then increases. Simultaneously, the mirror magnetic field affects the moving characteristics of charged particles, and causes a more inhomogeneous electron density.     

Degradation of Methyl Orange in Water by Contact Glow Discharge Electrolysis

The degradation of methyl orange in a neutral phosphate buffer solution was investigated by means of contact glow discharge electrolysis （CGDE）. The methyl oranges were degraded and eventually decomposed into inorganic carbon when CGDE was conducted under the applied DC voltage of 480 V and current of ca. 80 mA. As the intermediate products, some phenolic compounds were detected as well as carboxylic acids. Experimental results showed that the oxidation process followed the first-order reaction law. Based on the analysis of the ultraviolet （UV） spectra of the solution and the intermediate products from High Pressure Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrum （HPLC-MS）, the reaction pathway was proposed. The attack of hydroxyl radicals was considered to be a key step to start the whole oxidation process.     

Inactivation of Escherichia Coli Using Remote Low Temperature Glow Discharge Plasma

Low-temperature plasma is distinguished as a developing approach for sterilization which can deal with and overcome those problems such as thermal sensitivity and destruction by heat, formation of toxic by-products, higher costs and inefficiency in performances, caused by conventional methods. In this study, an experimental investigation was undertaken to characterize the effects of the operational parameters, such as treating time, discharge power and gas flow rate, of remote glow discharge air plasma. The results show that the inactivation of Escherichia coli can reach above 99.99% in less than 60 seconds and the optimal operational conditions for treating time, discharge power and gas flow rate were： 40 s, 80 W and 60 cm^3/min, respectively. The contribution of UV radiation during plasma germ deactivation is very limited.     

Characterization of Nitrogen Glow Discharge Plasma via Optical Emission Spectrum Simulation

Optical emission spectroscopy in nitrogen glow discharge plasma is simulated, and the collision excitations and characteristic emissions of the species （N2, N2^＋, N^＋, N） are investigated by a Monte Carlo model for nitrogen molecular gas discharge. The excitation rates of the main excited states are calculated and the corresponding relation and relative magnitude between the distribution of excitation rate of a certain excited state and the distributions of the emission rates of various lines originating from this excited level are also explored. The simulated results are compared with the experimental measurements in two typical discharge conditions. The luminescence mechanism of the line N2^＋： 391.4 nm is explained based on the microscopic plasma processes. The cathode glow in N2 discharge is found to be mainly caused by N^＋ impact excitation and the intensity of cathode glow decreases with the voltage. The corresponding relation between the emission rate or intensity of the 391.4 nm line and the production rate and the density of N2^＋ is also examined.     

Degradation of Anionic Dye Eosin by Glow Discharge Electrolysis Plasma

This paper describes a novel method for the degradation of eosin by using glow discharge electrolysis （GDE）. The effects of various parameters on the removal efficiency were studied. It was found that the eosin degradation could be raised considerably by increasing the applied voltage and the initial concentration, or by decreasing pH of the aqueous solution. Fe^2＋ ion had an evident accelerating effect on the eosin degradation. The degradation process of eosin obeyed a pseudo-first-order reaction. The relationship between the degradation rate constant k and the reaction temperature T could be expressed by Arrhenius equation with which the apparent activation energy Ea of 14.110 kJ· mol^-1 and the pre-exponential factor k0 of 2.065× 10^-1 min^-1 were obtained, too. The determination of hydroxyl radical was carried out by using N, N-dimethyl -p-nitrosoaniline （RNO） as a scavenger. The results showed that the hydroxyl radical plays an important role in the degradation process.     

Simulation of Electron-Beam Generating Plasma at Atmospheric Pressure

As electron-beam generating plasma is widely applied, the software tool EGS4 （Electron-Gamma Shower） was used to simulate the transmission and energy deposition of electron-beam in air. The simulation results indicated that the range of the electron-beam was inversely proportional to the gas pressure in a wide range of gas pressure, and the electron-beam of 200 keV could generate a plasma with a density 10^11 cm^-3 in air of latm. In addition, the energy distribution of the beam-electron and plasma density profile produced by the beam were achieved.     

Deposition of SiOx on Metal Surface with a DBD Plasma Gun at Atmospheric Pressure for Corrosion Prevention

In this study, SiOx films were deposited by a dielectric barrier discharge （DBD） plasma gun at an atmospheric pressure. The relationship of the film structures with plasma powers was investigated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy （FTIR）, and scanning electron microscope （SEM）. It was shown that an uniform and cross-linking structure film was formed by the DBD gun. As an application, the SiOx films were deposited on a carbon steel surface for the anti-corrosion purpose. The experiment was carried out in a 0.1 M NaCl solution. It was found that a very good anti-corrosive property was obtained, i.e., the corrosion rate was decreased c.a. 15 times in 5% NaCl solution compared to the non-SiOx coated steel, as detected by the potentiodynamic polarization measurement.     

Characterization of Crystalline Nanoparticles/Nanorods Synthesized by Atmospheric Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition of Perfluorohexane

A mass of nanoparticles/nanorods were formed on a simultaneously deposited gran- ular film by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition （PECVD） of perfluorohexane at atmo- spheric pressure without any catalysts or templates. Scanning electron microscopy （SEM） and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy （XPS） were used to characterize the morphology and the chem- ical compositions of nanoparticles. The average size of particles is about 100 nm and the length of synthesized nanorods is between 1 μm and 2.5/tm. The analyses of transmission electron microscopy （TEM）, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy （HRTEM）, selected area electron diffraction（SAED） and X-ray diffraction （XRD） reveals that the nanoparticles and nanorods are crystalline.     

The Oblique Incident Effects of Electromagnetic Wave in Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Layers

The propagating behaviours, i.e. phase shift, transmissivity, reflectivity and absorp- tivity, of an electromagnetic （EM） wave in a two-dimensional atmospheric pressure plasma layer are described by the numerical solutions of integral-differential Maxwell＇s equations through a generalized finite-difference-time-domain （FDTD） algorithm. These propagating behaviours are found to be strongly affected by five factors： two EM wave characteristics relevant to the oblique incident and three dimensionless factors. The two EM wave factors are the polarization mode （TM mode or TE mode） and its incident angle. The three dimensionless factors are： the ratio of the maximum electron density to the critical density no/nor, the ratio of the plasma layer width to the wave length d/λ, and the ratio of the collision frequency between electrons and neutrals to the incident wave frequency veo/f.     

Titanium Alloy Surface Modification by a Spatio-Temporal Atmospheric Pressure DBD Afterglow

The experimental work reported here is devoted to the study of the modifications inflicted on the surface of titanium alloy specimens by an atmospheric pressure dielectric barrier discharge（DBD） reactor in both spatial and temporal afterglow conditions. A commercially available （AcXys Technologies） modified reactor system was used for the surface treatment of the TiA6V4 titanium alloy that is widely used in the aeronautical industry. Wettability surface characterisation and XPS analyses are performed to give a macroscopic and microscopic insight to the surface modifications. Best operating conditions, at constant input energy, were obtained for a duty cycle equal to 10%.     

The Gas Nucleation Process Study of Anatase TiO2 in Atmospheric Non-Thermal Plasma EnhancedChemical Vapor Deposition简

Abstract The gas phase nucleation process of anatase TiO2 in atmospheric non-thermal plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition is studied. The particles synthesized in the plasma gas phase at different power density were collected outside of the reactor. The structure of the collected particles has been investigated by field scanning electron microscope （FESEM）, X-ray diffraction （XRD）, high resolution transmission electron microscopy （HRTEM） and selected area electron diffraction （SAED）. The analysis shows that uniform crystalline nuclei with average size of several nanometers have been formed in the scale of micro second through this reactive atmo- spheric plasma gas process. The crystallinity of the nanoparticles increases with power density. The high density of crystalline nanonuclei in the plasma gas phase and the low gas temperature are beneficial to the fast deposition of the 3D porous anatase TiO2 film.     

An Alternative Empirical Formula for Positive Corona Discharge I-V Characteristics in Point-to-Plate Electrode Geometry

Experimental data are presented for a study on the dependence of the I-V character- istics of the corona discharge on pressure and electrode spacing using point-to-plane electrode con- figuration. These experimental data are obtained by a fast, automatic computer data-acquisition system. The data are used to suggest an alternative dimensionally self-consistent empirical equa- tion for the parameterization of the I-V curves. The formula eliminates the need for any prior assumptions concerning the inception voltage, as is customary in this type of work.     

Methane Conversion to C2 Hydrocarbons by Abnormal Glow Discharge at Atmospheric Pressure

Methane conversion to C2 hydrocarbons has been investigated with the addition of hydrogen in a plasma reactor of abnormal glow discharge at atmospheric pressure. The aim of this experiment is to minimize coke formation and improve discharge stability. The typical conditions in the experiment are 300 ml of total feed flux and 400 W of discharge power. The experimental results show that methane conversion is from 91.6% to 35.2% in mol, acetylene selectivity is from 90.2% to 57.6%, and ethylene selectivity is approximately from 7.8% to 3.6%, where the coke increases gradually along with the increase of CH4/H2 from 2 ： 8 to 9 ： 1. A stable discharge for a considerable running time can be obtained only at a lower ratio of CH4/H2 = 2：8 or 3： 7. These phenomena indicate that the coke deposition during methane conversion is obviously reduced by adding a large amount of hydrogen during an abnormal glow discharge. A qualitative interpretation is presented, namely, with abundant hydrogen, the possibility that hydrogen molecules are activated to hydrogen radicals is increased with the help of the abnormal glow discharge. These hydrogen radicals react with carbon radicals to form C2 hydrocarbon products. Therefore, the deposition of coke is restrained.     

A New Atmospheric Pressure Microwave Plasma Source （APMPS）

An atmospheric pressure microwave plasma source （APMPS） that can generate a large volume of plasma at an atmospheric pressure has been developed at Tsinghua University. This paper presents the design of this APMPS, the theoretical consideration of microwave plasma ignition and the simulation results, including the distributions of the electric field and power density inside the cavity as well as the accuracy of the simulation results. In addition, a method of producing an atmospheric pressure microwave plasma and some relevant observations of the plasma are also provided. It is expected that this research would be useful for further developing atmospheric pressure microwave plasma sources and expanding the scope of their applications.     

Comparison of Sterilizing Effect of Nonequilibrium Atmospheric-Pressure He/O2 and Ar/O2 Plasma Jets

The sterilizing effect of the non-equilibrium atmospheric pressure plasma jet by applying it to the Bacillus subtilis spores is invesigated. A stable glow discharge in argon or helium gas fed with active gas （oxygen）, was generated in the coaxial cylindrical reactor powered by the radio-frequency power supply at atmospheric pressure. The experimental results indicated that the efficiency of killing spores by making use of an Ar/O2 plasma jet was much better than with a He/O2 plasma jet. The decimal reduction value of Ar/O2 and He/O2 plasma jets under the same experimental conditions was 4.5 seconds and 125 seconds, respectively. It was found that there exists an optimum oxygen concentration for a certain input power, at which the sterilization efficiency reaches a maximum value. It is believed that the oxygen radicals are generated most efficiently under this optimum condition.     

Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Jet in Organic Solution: Spectra,Degradation Effects of Solution Flow Rate and Initial pH Value

The organic compounds of p-nitrophenol （PNP） solution was treated by the active species generated in a stirred reactor by an atmospheric pressure plasma jet （APPJ）. The emission intensities of hydroxyl （OH）, oxygen （O）, nitric oxide （NO）, hydrogen （H） and molecular （N2） were measured by optical emission spectroscopy （OES）. The relations between the flow rates of the PNP solution and degradation, the degradation effects and initial pH value of the solution were also investigated. Experimental results show that there exist intense emissions of O （777.1 nm）, N（337.1 nm）, OH （306-310 nm） and NO band （200-290 nm） in the region of plasma. Given the treatment time and gas flow rate, the degradation increased as a function of discharge energy and solution flow rate, respectively. The solution flow rate for the most efficient degradation ranged from 1.414 m/s to 1.702 m/s, and contributed very little when it exceeded 2.199 m/s. This indicates the existence of diffusion-controlled reactions at a low solution flow rate and activation- controlled reactions at a high solution flow rate. Moreover, increasing or decreasing the initial pH value of neutral PNP solution （pH=5.95） could improve the degradation efficiency. Treated by APPJ, the PNP solutions with different initial pH values of 5.95, 7.47 and 2.78 turned more acidic in the end, while the neutral solution had the lowest degradation efficiency. This work clearly demonstrates the close coupling of active species, photolysis of ultraviolet, the organic solution flow rate and the initial pH value, and thus is helpful in the study of the mechanism and application of plasma in wastewater treatment.     

Deposition of Polymer Thin Film Using an Atmospheric Pressure Micro-Plasma Driven by Dual-FrequencyExcitation简

Polymer thin film deposition using an atmospheric pressure micro-plasma jet driven by dual-frequency excitations is described in this paper. The discharge process was operated with a mixture of argon （6 slm） and a small amount of acetone （0-2100 ppm）. Plasma composition was measured by optical emission spectroscopy （OES）. In addition to a large number of Ar spectra lines, we observed some spectra of C, CN, CH and C2. Through changing acetone content mixed in argon, we found that the optimum discharge condition for deposition can be characterized by the maximum concentration of carbonaceous species. The deposited film was characterized by scanning electron microscopy （SEM） and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy （XPS） and Fourier transform infrared （FTIR） spectroscopy. The XPS indicated that the film was mostly composed of C with trace amount of O and N elements. The FTIR suggested different carbon-containing bonds （-CHx, C=O, C=C, C-O-C） presented in the deposited film.     

CO2 Reforming of CH4 by Atmospheric Pressure Abnormal Glow Plasma

A novel plasma atmospheric pressure abnormal glow discharge was used to investigate synthesis gas production from reforming methane and carbon dioxide. Special attentions were paid to the discharge characteristics and CH4, CO2 conversion, H2, CO selectivity, and ratio of H2/CO varied with the changing of discharging power, the total flux, and the ratio of CH4/CO2. Experiments were performed in wider operation variables, the discharging power of 240 to 600 W, the CH4/CO2 of 0.2 to 1.0 and the total flux of 140 to 500mL/min. The experiments showed that the conversion of CH4 and CO2 was up to 91.9% and 83.2%, the selectivity of CO and H2 was also up to 80% and 90% and H2/CO mole ratio was 0.2 to 1.2, respectively. A brief analysis for discharge characteristics and the experimental results were given.     

Electrical features of radio-frequency atmospheric pressure helium discharge with and without dielectric electrodes

A comparative study of radio-frequency atmospheric pressure glow discharge(rf APGD)generated in helium with and without dielectric electrodes to investigate the effect of electrodes insulation on electrical features of APGD is presented. In the α mode, both the rf APGDs remain volumetric, stable and uniform. In the γ mode, the APGD without dielectric electrodes shrinks into a constricted plasma column whereas APGD with dielectric electrodes remains stable and retains the same volume without plasma constriction even at higher densities of discharge current. A comparison of electrical features of both rf APGDs in normal and abnormal glow discharge regimes is presented. In both APGDs with and without dielectric electrodes,impedance measurements have been performed and compared with equivalent circuit models.The measured impedance data is found to be in good agreement with simulated data.