Development of a new atmospheric pressure cold plasma jet generator and application in sterilization

This paper reports that a new plasma generator at atmospheric pressure, which is composed of two homocentric cylindrical all-metal tubes, successfully generates a cold plasma jet. The inside tube electrode is connected to ground, the outside tube electrode is connected to a high-voltage power supply, and a dielectric layer is covered on the outside tube electrode. When the reactor is operated by low-frequency （6 kHz-20 kHz） AC supply in atmospheric pressure and argon is steadily fed as a discharge gas through inside tube electrode, a cold plasma jet is blown out into air and the plasma gas temperature is only 25-30℃. The electric character of the discharge is studied by using digital real-time oscilloscope （TDS 200-Series）, and the discharge is capacitive. Preliminary results are presented on the decontamination of E.colis bacteria and Bacillus subtilis bacteria by this plasma jet, and an optical emission analysis of the plasma jet is presented in this paper. The ozone concentration generated by the plasma jet is 1.0× 10^16cm^-3 which is acquired by using the ultraviolet absorption spectroscopy.

Comparative transcriptome analysis of atmospheric pressure cold plasma enhanced early seedling growth in Arabidopsis thaliana

The stimulatory effects of atmospheric pressure cold plasma(APCP)on plant growth have attracted much attention due to its great potential as a new approach to increase crop growth and production.However,the transcriptome changes of plants induced by APCP treatment are unknown.Herein,the comparative transcriptome analysis was performed to identify the transcriptional response of Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings to APCP.Results showed that APCP exhibited a dual effect(stimulation or inhibition)on Arabidopsis seedling growth dependent on the treatment time and the maximum stimulatory effects were achieved by 1 min APCP treatment.The metabolic analysis of amino acid,glutathione(GSH)and phytohormone demonstrated that 1 min APCP treatment decreased most amino acids concentrations in Arabidopsis seedling,while the accumulations of GSH,gibberellins and cytokinin were significantly increased.The RNA-Seq analysis showed that a total of218 differentially expressed genes(DEGs)were identified in 1 min APCP-treated seedlings versus the control,including 20 up-regulated and 198 down-regulated genes.The DEGs were enriched in pathways related to GSH metabolism,mitogen-activated protein kinase(MAPK)signaling transduction and plant resistance against pathogens.Moreover,most of the DEGs were defense,stimuli or stressresponsive genes and encoded proteins with oxidoreductase activity.Expression determination of six randomly selected DEGs by quantitative real-time PCR demonstrated similar pattern with the RNASeq data.These results indicated that the moderate APCP treatment may regulate the expression of stimuli/stress-responsive genes involved in GSH,phytohormone/amino metabolism and plant defense against pathogens via MAPK signal transduction pathway,accordingly enhance Arabidopsis seedling growth.This study provides a theoretical basis for the application of APCP in agriculture.

Evaluation of influence of cold atmospheric pressure argon plasma operating parameters on degradation of aqueous solution of Reactive Blue 198(RB-198)

The intention of this work is to remove Reactive Blue 198(RB-198)dye components from simulated water solution using cold atmospheric pressure argon plasma jet.Aqueous solutions of RB-198 dye were treated as a function of various operating parameters such as applied potential,reaction time and distance between the plasma jet and surface of the liquid.The efficiency of the degradation of RB-198 molecules was explored by means of UV-Vis spectroscopy.The reactive species involved during the treatment process were examined by optical emission spectra(OES).The present hydroxyl radicals(OH·radical)and hydrogen peroxide(H2O2)in the plasma-treated aqueous dye solutions were investigated using various spectroscopic techniques.The other parameters such as total organic carbon(TOC),conductivity and p H were also reviewed.The toxicity of plasma-treated RB-198 solution was finally studied by diffusion bacterial analysis and by tracking seed germination processes.The results show that a higher degradation percentage of99.27%was acquired for the RB-198 treated at higher reaction time and applied potential,and shorter distance between the plasma jet and water surface.This may be due to the formation of various reactive oxygen(OH·radical,atomic oxygen(O)and H2O2)and nitrogen species(nitric oxide(NO)radicals and N2 second positive system(N2 SPS))during the processes as confirmed by OES analysis and other spectroscopy analysis.TOC(17.7%-81.8%)and pH(7.5-3.4)values of the plasma-treated RB-198 decreased significantly with respect to various operation parameters,which indicates the decomposition of RB-198 molecules in the aqueous solution.Moreover,the conductivity of plasma-treated RB-198 aqueous solutions was found to have increased linearly during the plasma treatment due to the formation of various ionic species in aqueous solution.The toxicity analysis clearly exhibits the non-toxic behavior of plasma-treated RB-198 aqueous solution towards the bacterial growth and germination of seeds.

Effects of Oxygen Concentration on Pulsed Dielectric Barrier Discharge in Helium-Oxygen Mixture at Atmospheric Pressure

In this work the effects of O_2 concentration on the pulsed dielectric barrier discharge in helium-oxygen mixture at atmospheric pressure have been numerically researched by using a one-dimensional fluid model in conjunction with the chosen key species and chemical reactions.The reliability of the used model has been examined by comparing the calculated discharge current with the reported experiments. The present work presents the following significant results. The dominative positive and negative particles are He_2~＋ and O_2^-, respectively, the densities of the reactive oxygen species（ROS） get their maxima nearly at the central position of the gap, and the density of the ground state O is highest in the ROS. The increase of O_2 concentration results in increasingly weak discharge and the time lag of the ignition. For O_2 concentrations below 1.1%,the density of O is much higher than other species, the averaged dissipated power density presents an evident increase for small O_2 concentration and then the increase becomes weak. In particular,the total density of the reactive oxygen species reaches its maximums at the O_2 concentration of about 0.5%. This characteristic further convinces the experimental observation that the O_2 concentration of 0.5% is an optimal O_2/He ratio in the inactivation of bacteria and biomolecules when radiated by using the plasmas produced in a helium oxygen mixture.

In-situ reduction of silver by surface DBD plasma:a novel method for preparing highly effective electromagnetic interference shielding Ag/PET

Electromagnetic interference(EMI)shielding composites with good flexibility and weatherability properties have attracted increased attention.In this study,we combined the surface modification method of sub-atmospheric pressure glow discharge plasma with in situ atmospheric pressure surface dielectric barrier discharge plasma(APSDBD)reduction to prepare polyethylene terephthalate supported silver(Ag/PET).Due to the prominent surface modification of PET film,mild plasma reduction,and effective control of the silver morphology by polyvinylpyrrolidone(PVP),a 3.32μm thick silver film with ultralow sliver loading(0.022 wt%)exhibited an EMI shielding efficiency(SE)of 39.45 d B at 0.01 GHz and 31.56 d B at 1.0 GHz(>30 d B in the range of 0.01–1.0 GHz).The SEM results and EMI shielding analysis indicated that the high performance originated from the synergistic effect of the formation of silver nanoparticles(Ag NPs)with preferentially oriented cell-like surface morphologies and layer-by-layer-like superimposed microstructures inside,which demonstrated strong microwave reflection properties.Fourier transform infrared spectrometer and x-ray diffractometer showed that the surface structures of the heat-sensitive substrate materials were not destroyed by plasma.Additionally,APSDBD technology for preparing Ag/PET had no special requirements on the thickness,dielectric constant,and conductivity of the substrate,which provides an effective strategy for manufacturing metal or alloy films on surfaces of heat-sensitive materials at a relatively low cost.