Fast synthesis of gold nanoparticles by cold atmospheric pressure plasma jet in the presence of Au^(+) ions and a capping agent

Homogeneous gold nanoparticles were synthesized under atmospheric pressure using a nonthermal helium plasma jet in a single-step process.A current power supply was used to generate the plasma discharge rich in diverse reactive species.These species induce rapid chemical reactions responsible for the reduction of the gold salts upon contact with the liquid solution.In this study,spherical and monodispersed gold nanoparticles were obtained within 5 min of plasma exposure using a solution containing gold(Ⅲ)chloride hydrate(HAuCl_(4))as a precursor and polyvinylpyrrolidone(PVP)as a capping agent to inhibit agglomerations.The formation of these metal nanoparticles was initially perceptible through a visible change in the sample's color,transitioning from light yellow to a red/pink color.This was subsequently corroborated by UVvis spectroscopy,which revealed an optical absorption in the 520-550 nm range for Au NPs,corresponding to the surface plasmon resonance(SPR)band.An investigation into the impact of various parameters,including plasma discharge duration,precursor and capping agent concentrations,was carried out to optimize conditions for the formation of well-separated,spherical gold nanoparticles.Dynamic light scattering(DLS)was used to measure the size of these nanoparticles,transmission electron microscopy(TEM)was used to observe their morphology and X-ray diffraction(XRD)was also employed to determine their crystallographic structure.The results confirm that homogeneous spherical gold nanoparticles with an average diameter of 13 nm can be easily synthesized through a rapid,straightforward,and environmentally friendly approach utilizing a helium atmospheric pressure plasma.

Transition from a filamentary mode to a diffuse one with varying distance from needle to stream of an argon plasma jet

Plasma jet has extensive application potentials in various fields, which normally operates in a diffuse mode when helium is used as the working gas. However, when less expensive argon is used, the plasma jet often operates in a filamentary mode. Compared to the filamentary mode, the diffuse mode is more desirable for applications. Hence, many efforts have been exerted to accomplish the diffuse mode of the argon plasma jet. In this paper, a novel single-needle argon plasma jet is developed to obtain the diffuse mode. It is found that the plasma jet operates in the filamentary mode when the distance from the needle tip to the central line of the argon stream(d) is short. It transits to the diffuse mode with increasing d. For the diffuse mode, there is always one discharge pulse per voltage cycle, which initiates at the rising edge of the positive voltage. For comparison, the number of discharge pulse increases with an increase in the peak voltage for the filamentary mode. Fast photography reveals that the plasma plume in the filamentary mode results from a guided positive streamer,which propagates in the argon stream. However, the plume in the diffuse mode originates from a branched streamer, which propagates in the interfacial layer between the argon stream and the surrounding air. By optical emission spectroscopy,plasma parameters are investigated for the two discharge modes, which show a similar trend with increasing d. The diffuse mode has lower electron temperature, electron density, vibrational temperature, and gas temperature compared to the filamentary mode.

Different bactericidal abilities of plasma-activated saline with various reactive species prepared by surface plasma-activated air and plasma jet combinations

Plasma-activated water(PAW),as an extended form of cold atmospheric-pressure plasma,greatly expands the application of plasma-based technology.The biological effects of PAW are closely related to the aqueous reactive species,which can be regulated by the activation process.In this study,surface plasma-activated air(SAA)and a He+O_(2)plasma jet(Jet)were parallelly combined(the SAA+Jet combination)or sequentially combined(the SAA→Jet combination and the Jet→SAA combination)to prepare plasma-activated saline(PAS).The PAS activated by the combinations exhibited stronger bactericidal effects than that activated by the SAA or the Jet alone.The concentrations of H_(2)O_(2)and NO_(2)^(-)were higher in the PAS activated by the Jet→SAA combination,while ONOO^(-)concentrations were close in the three kinds of PAS and^(1)O_(2)concentrations were higher in the PAS activated by the SAA+Jet combination.The analysis of scavengers also demonstrated that H_(2)O_(2),^(1)O_(2),and ONOO^(-)in the PAS activated by the SAA+Jet combination,and^(1)O_(2)in the PAS activated by the Jet→SAA combination played critical roles in bactericidal effects.Further,the effective placement time of the three PAS varied,and the PAS activated by the Jet→SAA combination could also inactivate 2.6-log_(10)of MRSA cells after placement for more than 60 min.The regulation of reactive species in plasma-activated water via different combinations of plasma devices could improve the directional application of plasma-activated water in the biomedical field.

A large-scale cold plasma jet: generation mechanism and application effect

Atmospheric pressure cold plasma jets(APCPJs) typically exhibit a slender, conical structure,which imposes limitations on their application for surface modification due to the restricted treatment area. In this paper, we introduce a novel plasma jet morphology known as the large-scale cold plasma jet(LSCPJ), characterized by the presence of both a central conical plasma jet and a peripheral trumpet-like diffuse plasma jet. The experimental investigations have identified the factors influencing the conical and the trumpet-like diffuse plasma jet, and theoretical simulations have shed light on the role of the flow field and the electric field in shaping the formation of the LSCPJ. It is proved that, under conditions of elevated helium concentration, the distributions of impurity gas particles and the electric field jointly determine the plasma jet’s morphology. High-speed ICCD camera images confirm the dynamic behavior of plasma bullets in LSCPJ, which is consistent with the theoretical analysis. Finally, it is demonstrated that when applied to the surface treatment of silicone rubber, LSCPJ can achieve a treatment area over 28 times larger than that of APCPJ under equivalent conditions. This paper uncovers the crucial role of impurity gases and electric fields in shaping plasma jet morphology and opens up the possibility of efficiently diversifying plasma jet generation effects through external electromagnetic fields. These insights hold the promise of reducing the generation cost of plasma jets and expanding their applications across various industrial sectors.

Polyvinyl alcohol–potassium iodide gel probe to monitor the distribution of reactive species generation around atmospheric-pressure plasma jet

This study proposes polyvinyl alcohol–potassium iodide(PVA–KI)as a novel gel chemical probe.The probe uses the reactions among PVA,KI,water,borax,and oxidative species to visualize the distribution of reactive species.This method provides information regarding the distribution of reactive species by coloration on the gel surface.The effects of the surrounding gas phase on the distribution and diffusion of the reactive species are also investigated using the PVA–KI gel probe.Further,the relationship between the irradiation distance and reactive species diffusion is determined on the surface of the PVA–KI probe with and without plastic shielding.Adjusting the irradiation distance appropriately leads to an increase in the modified area as detected by the PVA–KI gel probe analysis.The relative concentration distributions of the reactive species are also obtained from visualized color distributions measured using a colorimeter.Furthermore,reactive species generation by long-scale line plasma is confirmed by the color reaction on the PVA–KI gel surface,with a greater area being covered by an atmospheric-pressure pulsed microwave line plasma source.

Temporal electric field of a helium plasma jet by electric field induced second harmonic(E-FISH)method

Electric field is an important parameter of plasma,which is related to electron temperature,electron density,excited species density,and so on.In this work,the electric field of an atmospheric pressure plasma jet is diagnosed by the electric field induced second harmonic(E-FISH)method,and the time-resolved electric field under different conditions is investigated.When positive pulse voltage is applied,the electric field has a peak of about 25 kV cm-1at the rising edge of the voltage pulse.A dark channel is left behind the plasma bullet and the electric field in the dark channel is about 5 kV cm-1.On the other hand,when negative pulse voltage is applied,the electric field has a peak of-16 kV cm-1when the negative voltage is increased to-8 kV.A relatively bright channel is left behind the plasma head and the electric field in this relatively bright channel is about-6 kV cm-1.When the pulse rising time increases from 60 to 200 ns,the peak electric field at both the rising edge and the falling edge of the voltage decreases significantly.When 0.5%of oxygen is added to the main working gas helium,the peak electric field at the rising edge is only about 15 kV cm-1.On the other hand,when 0.5%nitrogen is added,the peak electric field increases especially at the falling edge of the voltage pulse,where it increases reversely from-12 to-16 kV cm-1(the minus sign only represents the direction of electric field).

Numerical simulation and experimental verification of plasma jet development in gas gap switch

Plasma jet triggered gas gap switch has obvious advantages in fast control switch.The development of the plasma in the ambient medium is the key factor affecting the triggering conduction of the gas switch.However,the plasma jet process and its characteristic parameters are complicated and the existing test methods cannot fully characterize its development laws.In this work,a two-dimensional transient fluid calculation model of the plasma jet process of the gas gap switch is established based on the renormalization-group k-εturbulence equation.The results show that the characteristic parameters and morphological evolution of the plasma jet are basically consistent with the experimental results,which verifies the accuracy of the simulation model calculation.The plasma jet is a long strip with an initial velocity of 1.0 km·s-1and develops in both axial and radial directions.The jet velocity fluctuates significantly with axial height.As the plasma jet enters the main gap,the pressure inside the trigger cavity drops by80%,resulting in a rapid drop in the jet velocity.When the plasma jet head interacts with the atmosphere,the two-phase fluid compresses each other,generating a forward-propelled pressure wave.The plasma jet heads flow at high velocity,a negative pressure zone is formed in the middle part of the jet,and the pressure peak decreases gradually with height.As the value of the inlet pressure increases,the characteristic parameters of the plasma jet increase.The entrainment phenomenon is evident,which leads to an increase in the pressure imbalance of the atmospheric gas medium,leading to a significant Coanda effect.Compared with air,the characteristic parameters of a plasma jet in SF6are lower,and the morphological evolution is significantly suppressed.The results of this study can provide some insight into the mechanism of action of the switch jet plasma development process.

Investigation of paint removal by atmospheric pressure plasma jet

Acrylic polyurethane paint on the surface of 2A12 Al alloy was cleaned utilizing an atmospheric pressure plasma jet in this work.The dynamic evolution of the paint removal process during plasma treatment with time was explored through analysis of morphology and chemical states.The results showed that although the thickness of paint could be reduced effectively with an increase in cleaning time,the removal rate of paint gradually decreased with time.During the initial cleaning process range,its original smooth morphology of paint turned rugged quickly and was almost unchanged with further plasma treatment.Element and chemical state analysis showed that the content of C in the paint layer decreased obviously after plasma treatment.In contrast,the O content increased remarkably.The cleaning mechanism could be mainly attributed to the reaction between active O-containing species in air plasma and organic components in the paint.After removal of superficial organic matter,residue inorganic metal oxide substances aggregated on the base.The exposed metal oxides on the one hand elevated the superficial O content,but on the other hand hindered further plasma penetration,resulting in a gradual decrease in cleaning rate with cleaning time.Therefore,physical wiping was proposed to be incorporated with the plasma method and effective removal of paint was realized.

Efficient hydrophilicity improvement of titanium surface by plasma jet in micro-hollow cathode discharge geometry

Surface hydrophilicity improvement of titanium(Ti)is of great significance for the applications of the important biomaterial.In this study,efficient hydrophilicity on the Ti surface is improved by an air plasma jet generated by a microhollow cathode discharge(MHCD)geometry.Elementary discharge aspects of the plasma jet and surface characteristics of the Ti surface are investigated by varying dissipated power(P_(d)).The results show that the plasma jet can operate in a pulsed mode or a continuous mode,depending on P_(d).The plume length increases with Pdand air flow rate increasing.By optical emission spectroscopy,plasma parameters as a function of Pdare investigated.After plasma treatment,water contact angel(WCA)of the Ti sample decreases to a minimum value of 15°with Pdincreasing.In addition,the surface topography,roughness,and content of chemical composition are investigated by scanning electron microscopy(SEM),atomic force microscopy(AFM),and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS)with Pdincreasing.The results show that Ti-O bond and O-H group on the Ti surface are beneficial to the improvement of the hydrophilicity of Ti surface.

Compared discharge characteristics and film modifications of atmospheric pressure plasma jets with two different electrode geometries

Atmospheric pressure plasma jet shows great potential for polymer film processing. The electrode geometry is the key factor to determine discharge characteristics and film modification of jets. In this paper, we compared the discharge characteristics and the film modifications of atmospheric pressure plasma jets with needle-ring electrode(NRE) and doublering electrode(DRE). The results show that jet with NRE has stronger electric field intensity and higher discharge power,making it present more reactive oxygen particles and higher electron temperature, but its discharge stability is insufficient.In contrast, the jet with DRE has uniform electric field distribution of lower field intensity, which allows it to maintain stable discharge over a wide range of applied voltages. Besides, the modification results show that the treatment efficiency of PET film by NRE is higher than that by DRE. These results provide a suitable atmospheric pressure plasma jets device selection scheme for polymer film processing process.

Degradation of sulfamethoxazole in water by dielectric barrier discharge plasma jet:influencing parameters,degradation pathway,toxicity evaluation

Sulfamethoxazole(SMX)is an antibiotic and widely present in aquatic environments,so it presents a serious threat to human health and sustainable development.A dielectric barrier discharge(DBD)plasma jet was utilized to degrade aqueous SMX,and the effects of various operating parameters(working gas,discharge power,etc)on SMX degradation performance were studied.The experimental results showed that the DBD plasma jet can obtain a relatively high degradation efficiency for SMX when the discharge power is high with an oxygen atmosphere,the initial concentration of SMX is low,and the aqueous solution is under acidic conditions.The reactive species produced in the liquid phase were detected,and OH radicals and O3were found to play a significant role in the degradation of SMX.Moreover,the process of SMX degradation could be better fitted by the quasi-first-order reaction kinetic equation.The analysis of the SMX degradation process indicated that SMX was gradually decomposed and 4-amino benzene sulfonic acid,benzene sulfonamide,4-nitro SMX,and phenylsulfinyl acid were detected,and thus three possible degradation pathways were finally proposed.The mineralization degree of SMX reached 90.04%after plasma treatment for 20 min,and the toxicity of the solution fluctuated with the discharge time but eventually decreased.

Influence of the pulse polarity on micro-hollow cathode helium plasma jet

Helium plasma jets generated by micro-hollow cathode discharge(MHCD) with the squarewave power source of different polarities are investigated in this work. The effects of positive and negative polarity pulses on the MHCD and plasma jet were compared, and the time-resolved optical emission spectra of excited species(N_(2)^(+) and O) were studied. The results confirm that the electric field is a key factor for the propagation of the jet during the rising edge of the positive current pulse, while the gas expansion is mainly important for the jet propagation during the current stable phase. The time-resolved spectra show that the generation of specie O in the jetdriven by the electric field is more efficient.

Evolution of ionization waves in a multi-pulsed plasma jet:the role of memory charges

In this paper,we discuss the properties of ionization waves(IWs)in a multi-pulsed plasma jet while using the two-dimensional computational approach.The IWs are generated by application of three short negative pulses with a repetition frequency 12.5 MHz.The simulations are performed continuously during a single run while accounting for charges accumulated inside(surface charges)and outside(space charges)the tube.The plasma forming gas mixture(He/O2=99.8%/0.2%)is injected through the discharge tube into the surrounding humid air.We show that an IW can emerge from the tube exit at a pulse rising edge(as a negative IW)and at a falling edge of the same pulse(as a positive IW).It is demonstrated that remnants of the negative and positive charges play an essential role in the discharge evolution.The first pulse travels the shortest distance as it propagates through the initially non-ionized environment.The IWs developing during the second pulse essentially enlarge the plasma plume length.At the same time,the IWs generated by the third pulse eventually decay due to the remnants of charges accumulated during the previous pulses.Accumulated memory charges can lead to the IW extinction.

Development of an atmospheric fluorocarbon plasma jet generated by pulse modulated microwave discharge

Atmospheric fluorocarbon plasma plays an important role in the surface modification of insulating materials like polymers.The existing fluorocarbon plasma is usually generated by dielectric barrier discharge,which has a low concentration of reactive species and may cause insufficient surface fluorination.This work attempts to develop an atmospheric fluorocarbon plasma jet using a coaxial transmission line resonator by microwave discharge with locally enhanced electric field and high density.The gas temperature is reduced by pulse modulation technology.Three kinds of working gases,pure CF_(4),Ar/CF_(4)and He/CF_(4),are utilized to generate the atmospheric microwave fluorocarbon plasma jet.The discharge images,optical emission spectra,electron densities and gas temperatures are studied experimentally.The results show that the Ar/CF_(4)plasma jet has the best comprehensive performance,such as strong discharge intensity and controllable gas temperature.The electron density of the Ar/CF_4plasma jet has a magnitude of 10~(20)m^(-3),indicating a higher density than that of the frequently used dielectric barrier discharge.With the other conditions unchanged,the gas temperature at the end of the Ar/CF_(4)plasma jet can be reduced from 410.2 to 347.3 K by decreasing the duty cycle of the modulated pulse from 0.5 to 0.1.Thence,the microwave Ar/CF_(4)plasma jet is considered to be a promising fluorocarbon plasma source for surface fluorination of polymers.

采用DC Arc Plasma JetCVD方法沉积微/纳米复合自支撑金刚石膜

在30kW级直流电弧等离子体喷射化学气相沉积(DC Arc P lasm a Jet CVD)设备上,采用Ar-H2-CH4混合气体,通过调节甲烷浓度以及控制其他沉积参数,在Mo衬底上沉积出微/纳米复合自支撑金刚石膜。实验表明,当微米金刚石膜层沉积结束后,在随后的沉积中,随着甲烷浓度的增加,金刚石膜表面的晶粒大小是逐渐减小的。当甲烷浓度达到20%以上时,金刚石膜生长面晶粒呈现菜花状的小晶团,膜体侧面已经没有了粗大的柱状晶,而是呈现出光滑的断口,对该层进行拉曼谱分析显示,位于1145 cm-1附近有一定强度的散射峰出现。这说明所沉积的晶粒全部变为纳米级尺寸。

Bacteria Inactivation Using DBD Plasma Jet in Atmospheric Pressure Argon

A coaxial dielectric barrier discharge plasma jet was designed, which can be operated in atmospheric pressure argon under an intermediate frequency sinusoidal resonant power supply, and an atmospheric pressure glow-like discharge was achieved. Two kinds of typical bacteria, i.e., the Staphylococcus aureus （S. aureus） and Escherichia coil （E. coil）, were employed to study the bacterial inactivation mechanism by means of the non-thermal plasma. The killing log value （KLV） of S. aureus reached up to 5.38 with a treatment time of 90 s and that of E. coil up to 5.36 with 60 s, respectively. According to the argon emission spectra of the plasma jet and the scanning electron microscope （SEM） images of the two bacteria before and after the plasma treatment, it is concluded that the reactive species in the argon plasma played a major role in the bacterial inactivation, while the heat, electric field and UV photons had little effect.

Two-dimensional numerical study of an atmospheric pressure helium plasma jet with dual-power electrode

In this paper, the characteristics of an atmospheric pressure helium plasma jet generated by a dual-power electrode （DPE） configuration are investigated by using a two-dimensional fluid model. The effect of a needle electrode on the discharge is studied by comparing the results of the DPE configuration with those of the single ring electrode configuration. It is found that the existence of the needle leads to the generation of a helium plasma jet with a higher propagation velocity, higher species density, and larger discharge width. Furthermore, the influences of the needle radius and needle-to-ring discharge gap on the generation of a plasma jet are also studied. The simulation results indicate that the needle electrode has an evident influence on the plasma jet characteristics.

The influence of grounded electrode positions on the evolution and characteristics of an atmospheric pressure argon plasma jet

An atmospheric pressure plasma jet（APPJ） in Ar with various grounded electrode arrangements is employed to investigate the effects of electrode arrangement on the characteristics of the APPJ.Electrical and optical methods are used to characterize the plasma properties.The discharge modes of the APPJ with respect to applied voltage are studied for grounded electrode positions of 10 mm,40 mm and 80 mm,respectively,and the main discharge and plasma parameters are investigated.It is shown that an increase in the distance between the grounded electrode and high-voltage electrode results in a change in the discharge modes and discharge parameters.The discharges transit from having two discharge modes,dielectric barrier discharge（DBD） and jet,to having three,corona,DBD and jet,with increase in the distance from the grounded to the high-voltage electrodes.The maximum length of the APPJ reaches 3.8 cm at an applied voltage of 8 kV.The discharge power and transferred charges and spectral line intensities for species in the APPJ are influenced by the positions of the grounded electrode,while there is no obvious difference in the values of the electron excited temperature（EET） for the three grounded electrode positions.

Three modes of a direct-current plasma jet operated underwater to degrade methylene blue

A direct-current air plasma jet operated underwater presents three stable modes including an intermittently-pulsed discharge, a periodically-pulsed discharge and a continuous discharge with increasing the power voltage. The three discharge modes have different appearances for the plasma plumes. Moreover, gap voltage-current characteristics indicate that the continuous discharge is in a normal glow regime. Spectral lines from reactive species（OH, N2, N2^＋, Hα,and O） have been revealed in the emission spectrum of the plasma jet operated underwater.Spectral intensities emitted from OH radical and oxygen atom increase with increasing the power voltage or the gas flow rate, indicating that reactive species are abundant. These reactive species cause the degradation of the methylene blue dye in solution. Effects of the experimental parameters such as the power voltage, the gas flow rate and the treatment time are investigated on the degradation efficiency. Results indicate that the degradation efficiency increases with increasing the power voltage, the gas flow rate or the treatment time. Compared with degradation in the intermittently-pulsed mode or the periodically-pulsed one, it is more efficient in the continuous mode, reaching 98% after 21 min treatment.

Study on an Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Jet and its Application in Etching Photo-Resistant Materials

An atmospheric pressure radio-frequency plasma jet that can eject cold plasma has been developed. In this paper, the configuration of this type of plasma jet is illustrated and its discharge characteristics curves are studied with a current and a voltage probe. A thermal couple is used to measure the temperature distribution along the axis of the jet stream. The temperature distribution curve is generated for the He/O-2 jet stream at the discharge power of 150 W. This jet can etch the photo-resistant material at an average rate of 100 nm/min on the surface of silicon wafers at a right angle.