Formation mechanism of bright and dark concentric-ring pattern in dielectric barrier discharge

In this work,a bright and dark concentric-ring pattern is reported in a dielectric barrier discharge for the first time.The spatiotemporal dynamics of the bright and dark concentric-ring pattern are investigated with an intensified charge-coupled device and photomultiplier tubes.The results indicate that the bright and dark concentric-ring pattern is composed of three concentric-ring sublattices.These are bright concentric-ring structures,dark concentric-ring structures and wider concentric-ring structures,respectively.The bright concentric-ring structures and dark concentricring structures are alternately distributed.The bright concentric-ring structures are located at the centre of the wider concentric-ring structures.The wider concentric-ring structures first form from the outer edge and gradually develop to the centre.The essence of all three concentric-ring structures is the individual discharge filaments.The optical emission spectra of different sublattices are acquired and analysed.It is found that the plasma parameters of the three concentricring sublattices are different.Finally,the formation mechanism of the bright and dark concentricring pattern is discussed.

Surface Modification of Fluororubber Using Atmospheric Pressure Dielectric Barrier Discharge(DBD)

Fluoride rubber F2311 film, an alternating copolymer of CF2-CFC1 （CTFE） and CH2-CF2 （VF2） components, was treated by atmospheric pressure dielectric barrier discharge （DBD） in air. The surface structure, topography and surface chemistry of the treated F2311 films were characterized by contact angle measurement, atomic force microscopy （AFM）, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy （XPS）, respectively. The experimental results showed that a short time air plasma treatment led to morphological, wettability and chemical changes in the F2311 films. The surface hydrophilicity increased greatly after the plasma treatment, the static water contact angle decreased from 98.6° to 32°, and oxygen containing groups （C=O, O-C=O, etc. ） were introduced. Atomic force microscopy revealed that plasma produced by DBD etched F2311 films obviously. The roughness of the samples increased remarkably with the formation of peaks and valleys on the treated surfaces. The increased surface wettability may be correlated with both the introduction of hydrophilic groups due to air plasma oxidation of the surface and the change in surface morphology etched by DBD.

NaCl aqueous solution as a novel electrode in a dielectric barrier discharge reactor for highly efficient ozone generation

Ozone(O_(3)) generated by a dielectric barrier discharge(DBD) is widely used in various industrial processes. In this study, NaCl aqueous solution was used as a novel electric power transmission electrode in a DBD reactor(instead of a traditional metal electrode) for highly efficient ozone generation. The results demonstrated that a high O_(3) yield of 242 g k Wh^(-1) with a concentration of 14.6 g m^(-3)O_(3) was achieved. The power transmission mechanism works because NaCl aqueous solution behaves as a capacitor when an alternating pulse voltage below 8 k Hz is used.Compared with the resistance of the discharge barrier and discharge space, the resistance of NaCl aqueous solution can be ignored, which ensures that O_(3) is generated efficiently. It is expected that O_(3) generation using NaCl aqueous solution as a novel electrode in a DBD reactor could be an alternative technology with good application prospects.

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.

Investigation of Plasma Polymerized Maleic Anhydride Film in a Middle Frequency Dielectric Barrier Discharge

Plasma polymerized maleic anhydride （MA） was carried out by using maleic anhydride supersaturated ethanol solution as a precursor in a dielectric barrier discharge （DBD）. The film properties were characterized by water contact angle （WCA）, Fourier transfer infrared （FTIR）, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy （XPS）, atomic force microscope （AFM） analysis, and a thickness profilometer. The influence of the processing parameters on the film properties such as tile power frequency and polymerization zone was investigated. The results show that anhydride group incorporated into the growing films is favorable at the frequency of 80 kHz and working pressure of 50 Pa. The poly （maleic anhydride） film is uniform and compact at an average deposition rate of 8 nm/min.

Effect of gas composition on nitric oxide removal from simulated flue gas with DBD-NPC method

A new method for nitric oxide(NO)removal was developed by combining dielectric barrier discharge(DBD)and negative pulse corona(NPC).The effects of gas composition(O2,CO2,and H2 O)on NO removal were investigated with this method,and the effect of alcohols(methanol and ethanol)addition on NO removal was also investigated as well as the reaction mechanisms to enhance the NO removal efficiency.The experimental results showed that O2,CO2,and H2 O had obvious inhibition effects on NO removal,and the negative effects were in the following order:O2>CO2>H2 O.The addition of methanol or ethanol in the reaction system could mitigate the negative effects of O2,CO2 and H2 O on NO removal,and also eliminated the production of N02.The positive effect of alcohols addition with DBD-NPC denitration method was also validated in the simulated flue gas,in which the NOx(NO,NO2)was mainly converted into N2.

Toluene removal characteristics by a superimposed wire-plate dielectric barrier discharge plasma reactor

A superimposed wire-plate dielectric barrier discharge reactor was used to remove toluene in this study. The effects of oxygen content, gas flow rate, gas initial concentration and with/without catalyst on toluene decomposition were investigated. It was found that an optimal toluene removal was achieved when the oxygen content was about 5%. Under this condition, the highest toluene removal efficiency of 80.8% was achieved when the gas concentration was 80 mg/m^3. The toluene removal efficiency decreased with the increase of the gas flow rate and the initial concentration of toluene. In addition, the ozone concentration decreased with the increase of the initial concentration of toluene. It suggested that combining DBD （dielectric barrier discharge） with Co3O4/Al2O3/foam nickel catalyst in-situ could improve the toluene removal efficiency and suppress ozone formation. Products analysis showed that the main products were CO and CO2 when oxygen was more than 5%.

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.

Surface Treatment of Polyethylene Terephthalate Film Using Atmospheric Pressure Glow Discharge in Air

Non-thermal plasmas under atmospheric pressure are of great interest in polymer surface processing because of their convenience, effectiveness and low cost. In this paper, the treatment of Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film surface for improving hydrophilicity using the non-thermal plasma generated by atmospheric pressure glow discharge (APGD) in air is conducted. The discharge characteristics of APGD are shown by measurement of their electrical discharge parameters and observation of light-emission phenomena, and the surface properties of PET before and after the APGD treatment are studied using contact angle measurement, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It is found that the APGD is homogeneous and stable in the whole gas gap, which differs from the commonly filamentary dielectric barrier discharge (DBD). A short time (several seconds) APGD treatment can modify the surface characteristics of PET film markedly and uniformly. After 10 s APGD treatment, the

Discoloration of Congo Red by Rod-Plate Dielectric Barrier Discharge Processes at Atmospheric Pressure

A dielectric barrier discharge （DBD） reactor with a rod-plate electrode configuration was used for the oxidative decomposition of Congo red dye in an aqueous solution. Plasma was generated in the gas space above the water interface under atmospheric pressure. Discharge characteristics were analyzed by voltage-current waveforms. Effects of applied voltage, initial conductivity, and initial concentration were also analyzed. Congo red discoloration increased with increased applied voltage and decreased conductivity. The initial conductivity significantly influenced the Congo red discoloration. Under the same conditions, the highest discoloration rate was obtained at 25 mg/L. The presence of ferrous ions in the solutions had a substantial positive effect on Fenton dye degradation and flocculation. At an applied voltage of 20 kV, about 100% of dye was degraded after 4 min of Fe^2＋/DBD treatment. Results showed that adding a certain dosage of hydrogen peroxide to the wastewater could enhance the discoloration rate. Possible pathways of Congo red discoloration by DBD plasma were proposed based on GC/MS, FTIR, and UV-vis spectroscopy analyses.

Dynamic stall control over an airfoil by NS-DBD actuation

The wind tunnel test was conducted with an NACA 0012 airfoil to explore the flow control effects on airfoil dynamic stall by NS-DBD plasma actuation. Firstly, light and deep dynamic stall states were set, based on the static stall characteristics of airfoil at a Reynolds number of 5.8 × 105. Then, the flow control effect of NS-DBD on dynamic stall was studied and the influence law of three typical reduced frequencies (k = 0.05, k = 0.05, and k = 0.15) was examined at various dimensionless actuation frequencies (F+ = 1, F+ = 2, and F+ = 3). For both light and deep dynamic stall states, NS-DBD had almost no effect on upstroke. However, the lift coefficients on downstroke were increased significantly and the flow control effect at F+ = 1 is the best. The flow control effect of the light stall state is more obvious than that of deep stall state under the same actuation conditions. For the same stall state, with the reduced frequency increasing, the control effect became worse. Based on the in being principles of flow separation control by NS-DBD, the mechanism of dynamic stall control was discussed and the influence of reduced frequency on the dynamic flow control was analyzed. Different from the static airfoil flow separation control, the separated angle of leading-edge shear layer for the airfoil in dynamic stall state is larger and flow control with dynamic oscillation is more difficult. The separated angle is closely related to the effective angle of attack, so the effect of dynamic stall control is greatly dependent on the history of angles of attack.

Degradation of Aniline Wastewater Using Dielectric Barrier Discharges at Atmospheric Pressure

Aniline is a toxic water pollutant detected in drinking water and surface water, and this chemical is harmful to both human and aquatic life. A dielectric barrier discharge （DBD） reactor was designed in this study to investigate the treatment of aniline in aqueous solution. Discharge characteristics were assessed by measuring voltage and current waveforms, capturing light emission images, and obtaining optical emission spectra. The effects of several parameters were analyzed, including treatment distance, discharge power, DBD treatment time, initial pH of aniline solutions, and addition of sodium carbonate and hydrogen peroxide to the treatment. Aniline degradation increased with increasing discharge power. Under the same conditions, higher degradation was obtained at a treatment distance of 0 mm than at other treatment distances. At a discharge power of 21.5 W, 84.32% of aniline was removed after 10 rain of DBD treatment. Initial pH significantly influenced aniline degradation. Adding a certain dosage of sodium carbonate and hydrogen peroxide to the wastewater can accelerate the degradation rate of aniline. Possible degradation pathways of aniline by DBD plasmas were proposed based on the analytical data of GC/MS and TOC.

Experimental Study on Inactivation of Bacterial Endotoxin by Using Dielectric Barrier Discharge

The low-temperature plasma （LTP） generated by dielectric barrier discharge （DBD） was used to sterilize the E.coli endotoxin, which is usually difficult to kill by traditional methods. Three different concentrations of bacterial endotoxin （1 EU/mL, 0.5 EU/mL and 0.25 EU/mL） were treated by LTP for different time （20 s, 40 s and 60 s）. Tachypleus amebocyte lysate （TAL） method was employed to detect the concentration variation of bacterial endotoxin before and af- ter the plasma treatment, and endotoxic shock mice model was used to evaluate the inactivation effects of LTP on endotoxin for further study. Experimental results demonstrated that, DBD plasma can inactivate the bacterial endotoxin quickly and effectively, and when the LTP treatment time was increased, the concentrations of bacterial endotoxin decreased gradually （after 60 s plasma treatment, its inactivation effect was beyond the Chinese pharmacopoeia standard）, and the average survival time of mice gradually extended. The possible inactivation mechanisms are proposed to be related to reactive oxygen species （ROSs）.

Atmospheric-Pressure DBD Cold Plasma for Preparation of High Active Au/P25 Catalysts for Low-Temperature CO Oxidation

Cold plasma generated by dielectric barrier discharge （DBD） at atmospheric pressure was adopted for preparation of commercial TiO2 Degussa P25 supported Au catalysts （Au/P25- P） with the assistance of the deposition-precipitation procedure. The influences of the plasma reduction time and calcination on the performance of the Au/P25-P catalysts were investigated. CO oxidation was performed to investigate the catalytic activity of the Au/P25 catalysts. The results show that DBD cold plasma for the fabrication of Au/P25-P catalysts is a fast process, and Au/P25-P （4 min） exhibited the highest CO oxidation activity due to the complete reduction of Au compounds and less consumption of oxygen vacancies. In order to form more oxygen vacancies active species, Au/P25-P was calcined to obtain Au/P25-PC catalysts. Interestingly, Au/P25- PC exhibited the highest activity for CO oxidation among the Au/P25 samples. The results of transmission electron microscopy （TEM） indicated that the smaller size and high distribution of Au nanoparticles are the mean reasons for a high performance of Au/P25-PC. Atmospheric- pressure DBD cold plasma was proved to be of great efficiency in preparing high performance supported Au catalysts.

Effects of Atmospheric DBD Plasma Treatment on the Surface Properties of PAN-Based Carbon Fiber

Plasma treatment has been known as an effective way to improve the surface bonding between the reinforcement material and the matrix, by modifying the surface morphology and the chemical composes of the material. In order to investigate the effects of atmospheric dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma treatment on the surface properties of polyacrylonitrile-based (PAN-based) carbon fiber, atomic force microscope(AFM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS), and contact angle test were introduced to compare different treatment duration. The interfacial adhesion of carbon fiber/epoxy (CF/EP) composites were analyzed by a single fiber composite (SFC) for filament fragmentation test. And the tensile strength test and Weibull analysis were carried out to observe whether the etching could affect the strength. The results prove that the DBD plasma improves the surface properties of the carbon fiber. Further, when the treatment time was around 90 s, the roughness and oxygen containing group of the carbon fiber reached the peak values. Also, the fiber showed the best adhesion to the polymer in contact angle test and the optimum interfacial shear strength (IFSS) in fragmentation test. The Weibull analyses of the tensile data revealed no substantial changes in the tensile strength within the treatment time of 180 s.

Parameter Optimization for Enhancement of Ethanol Yield by Atmospheric Pressure DBD-Treated Saccharomyces cerevisiae

In this study, Saccharomyces cerevisiae （S. cerevisiae） was exposed to dielectric barrier discharge plasma （DBD） to improve its ethanol production capacity during fermenta- tion. Response surface methodology （RSM） was used to optimize the discharge-associated pa- rameters of DBD for the purpose of maximizing the ethanol yield achieved by DBD-treated S. cerevisiae. According to single factor experiments, a mathematical model was established using Box-Behnken central composite experiment design, with plasma exposure time, power supply volt- age, and exposed-sample volume as impact factors and ethanol yield as the response. This was followed by response surface analysis. Optimal experimental parameters for plasma discharge- induced enhancement in ethanol yield were plasma exposure time of 1 rain, power voltage of 26 V, and an exposed sample volume of 9 mL. Under these conditions, the resulting yield of ethanol was 0.48 g/g, representing an increase of 33% over control.

Novel electrode structure in a DBD reactor applied to the degradation of phenol in aqueous solution

Phenol degradation experimental results are presented in a similar wastewater aqueous solution using a non-thermal plasma reactor in a coaxial dielectric barrier discharge. The novelty of the work is that one of the electrodes of the reactor has the shape of a hollow screw which shows an enhanced efficiency compared with a traditional smooth structure. The experimentation was carried out with gas mixtures of 90% Ar-10% O2, 80% At-20% 02 and 0% Ar-100% 02. After one hour of treatment the removal efficiency was 76%, 92%, and 97%, respectively, assessed with a gas chromatographic mass spectrometry technique. For both reactors used, the ozone concentration was measured. The screw electrode required less energy, for all gas mixtures, than the smooth electrode, to maintain the same ozone concentration. On the other hand, it was also observed that in both electrodes the electrical conductivity of the solution changed slightly from ,-0.0115 S m^-1 up to -0.0430 S m^-1 after one hour of treatment. The advantages of using the hollow screw electrode structure compared with the smooth electrode were： （1） lower typical power consumption, （2） the generation of a uniform plasma throughout the reactor benefiting the phenol degradation, （3） a relatively lower temperature of the aqueous solution during the process, and （4） the plasma generation length is larger.

Preparation of Copper Nanoparticles Using Dielectric Barrier Discharge at Atmospheric Pressure and its Mechanism

Dielectric barrier discharge （DBD） cold plasma at atmospheric pressure was used for preparation of copper nanoparticles by reduction of copper oxide （CuO）. Power X-ray diffraction （XRD） was used to characterize the structure of the copper oxide samples treated by DBD plasma. Influences of H2 content and the treating time on the reduction of copper oxide by DBD plasma were investigated. The results show that the reduction ratio of copper oxide was increased initially and then decreased with increasing H2 content, and the highest reduction ratio was achieved at 20% H2 content. Moreover, the copper oxide samples were gradually reduced by DBD plasma into copper nanoparticles with the increase in treating time. However, the average reduction rate was decreased as a result of the diffusion of the active hydrogen species. Optical emission spectra （OES） were observed during the reduction of the copper oxide samples by DBD plasma, and the reduction mechanism was explored accordingly. Instead of high-energy electrons, atomic hydrogen （H） radicals, and the heating effect, excited-state hydrogen molecules are suspected to be one kind of important reducing agents. Atmospheric-pressure DBD cold plasma is proved to be an efficient method for preparing copper nanoparticles.

Surface Treatment of Polypropylene Films Using Dielectric Barrier Discharge with Magnetic Field

Atmospheric pressure non-thermal plasma is of interest for industrial applications. In this study, polypropylene （PP） films are modified by a dielectric barrier discharge （DBD） with a non-uniform magnetic field in air at atmospheric pressure. The surface properties of the PP films before and after a DBD treatment are studied by using contact angle measurement, atomic force microscopy （AFM） and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy （XPS）. The effect of treatment time on the surface modification with and without a magnetic field is investigated. It is found that the hydrophilic improvement depends on the treatment time and magnetic field. It is also found that surface roughness and oxygen-containing groups are introduced onto the PP film surface after the DBD treatment. Surface roughness and oxygen-containing polar functional groups of the PP films increase with the magnetic induction density. The functional groups are identified as C-O, C=O and O-C=O by using XPS analysis. It is concluded that the hydrophilic improvement of PP films treated with a magnetic field is due to a greater surface roughness and more oxygen-containing groups.

Study on the Microsecond Pulse Homogeneous Dielectric Barrier Discharges in Atmospheric Air and Its Influencing Factors

The homogeneous dielectric barrier discharge （DBD） in atmospheric air between two symmetric-columnar copper electrodes with epoxy plates as the dielectric barriers is generated using a us pulse high voltage power supply. The discharge characteristics are studied by measurement of its electrical discharge parameters and observation of its light emission phenom- ena, and the main discharge parameters of the homogenous DBD, such as discharge current and average discharge power, are calculated. Results show that the discharge generated is a homogeneous one with one larger single current pulse of about 2 #s duration appearing in each voltage pulse, and its light emission is radially homogeneous and covers the entire surface of the two elec- trodes. The influences of applied voltage amplitude, air gap distance and barrier thickness on the transition of discharge modes are studied. With the increase of air gap distance, the discharge will transit from homogeneous mode to filamentary mode. The higher the thickness of dielectric barriers, the larger the air gap distance for generating the homogeneous discharge mode. The average discharge power increases non-linearly with increasing applied voltage amplitude, and decreases non-linearly with the increase of air gap distance and barrier thickness. In order to generate stable and homogeneous DBD with high discharge power, thin barriers distance should be used, and higher applied voltage amplitude should be applied to small air gap.