Generation of reactive species in atmospheric pressure dielectric barrier discharge with liquid water

Atmospheric pressure helium/water dielectric barrier discharge（DBD） plasma is used to investigate the generation of reactive species in a gas–liquid interface and in a liquid. The emission intensity of the reactive species is measured by optical emission spectroscopy（OES）with different discharge powers at the gas–liquid interface. Spectrophotometry is used to analyze the reactive species induced by the plasma in the liquid. The concentration of OH radicals reaches 2.2 μm after 3 min of discharge treatment. In addition, the concentration of primary longlived reactive species such as H;O;, NO;and O;are measured based on plasma treatment time.After 5 min of discharge treatment, the concentration of H;O;, NO;, and O;increased from 0 mg?·?L;to 96 mg?·?L;, 19.5 mg?·?L;, and 3.5 mg?·?L;, respectively. The water treated by plasma still contained a considerable concentration of reactive species after 6 h of storage. The results will contribute to optimizing the DBD plasma system for biological decontamination.

Preparation of Diamond-like Carbon Film Assisted in the Plasma of Dielectric Barrier Discharge at Atmospheric Pressure

Dielectric barrier discharge at atmospheric presure has been applied to prepare hydrocarbon films on large- area glass and silicon substrates. When hydrogen and methane mixture(2:1) is used as discharge gas and the substrate is heated to 300 C, hard hydrogenated amorphous carbon film is deposited. From the IR deconvolution analysis of the C-H stretching absorption for the coating, the hydrocarbon group ration (CH3:CH2:CH) and C-C bond type ratio (sp3c/sp2c) are about 10%: 21%: 69% and 3:1~6:1,respectively. Their Knoop hardness is up to 10Gpa. No film isdeposited when the content of methane in the mixed gases is decreased to 5% at 300 C silicon substrate.

Experimental and simulated investigation of microdischarge characteristics in a pin-to-pin dielectric barrier discharge(DBD)reactor

Both experimental and simulated studies of microdischarge(MD)are carried out in a dielectric barrier discharge with a pin-to-pin gap of 3.5 mm,ignited by a sinusoidal voltage with a peak voltage of 10 kV and a driving frequency of 5 kHz.Statistical results have shown that the probability of the single current pulse in the positive half-period(HP)reaches 73.6%under these conditions.Experimental results show that great luminous intensity is concentrated on the dielectric surface and the tip of the metal electrode.A 1D plasma fluid model is implemented by coupling the species continuity equations,electron energy density equations,Poisson equation,and Helmholtz equations to analyze the MD dynamics on the microscale.The simulated results are in good qualitative agreement with the experimental results.The simulated results show that the MD dynamics can be divided into three phases:the Townsend phase,the streamer propagation phase,and the discharge decay phase.During the streamer propagation phase,the electric field and electron density increase with the streamer propagation from the anode to the cathode,and their maximal values reach 625.48 Td and 2.31×10^(19)m^(-3),as well as 790.13 Td and 3.58×10^(19)m^(-3)in the positive and negative HP,respectively.Furthermore,a transient glow-like discharge is detected around the anode during the same period of streamer propagation.The formation of transient glow-like discharge is attributed to electrons drifting back to the anode,which is driven by the residual voltage in the air gap.

Surface Decontamination of Chemical Agent Surrogates Using an Atmospheric Pressure Air Flow Plasma Jet

An atmospheric pressure dielectric barrier discharge （DBD） plasma jet generator using air flow as the feedstock gas was applied to decontaminate the chemical agent surrogates on the surface of aluminum, stainless steel or iron plate painted with alkyd or PVC. The experi- mental results of material decontamination show that the residual chemical agent on the material is lower than the permissible value of the National Military Standard of China. In order to test the corrosion effect of the plasma jet on different material surfaces in the decontamination pro-cess, corrosion tests for the materials of polymethyl methacrylate, neoprene, polyvinyl chloride （PVC）, polyethylene （PE）, phenolic resin, iron plate painted with alkyd, stainless steel, aluminum, etc. were carried out, and relevant parameters were examined, including etiolation index, chroma- tism, loss of gloss, corrosion form, etc. The results show that the plasma jet is slightly corrosive for part of the materials, but their performances are not affected. A portable calculator, computer display, mainboard, circuit board of radiogram, and a hygrometer could work normally after being treated by the plasma jet.

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.