Plasma Chemistry and Plasma Processing, Vol.28, No.3, 317-330, 2008
Experimental research of OH and N-2(+) spatially resolved spectra in a needle-plate pulsed streamer discharge
In this study, the spatial distributions of the emission intensity of OH (A(2)Sigma --> X-2 Pi; 0-0) and N-2(+) (B-2 Sigma u(+) --> X-2 Sigma(+)(g); 0-0, 391.4 nm) are investigated in the atmospheric pressure pulsed streamer discharge of H2O and N-2 mixture in a needle-plate reactor configuration. The effects of pulsed peak voltage, pulsed repetition rate, input power, and O-2 flow rate on the spatial distributions of the emission intensity of OH (A(2)Sigma --> X-2 Pi, 0-0), N-2(+) (B-2 Sigma(+)(u) --> X-2 Sigma(+)(g), 0-0, 391.4 nm), and the vibrational temperature of N-2 (C) in the lengthwise direction from needle to plate are attained. It is found that the emission intensities of OH (A(2)Sigma --> X-2 Pi, 0-0) and N-2(+) (B-2 Sigma(+)(u) --> X-2 Sigma(+)(g), 0-0, 391.4 nm) rise with increasing the pulsed peak voltage, the pulsed repetition rate and the input power, and decrease with increasing O-2 flow rate. In the direction from needle to plate, the emission intensity of OH (A(2)Sigma --> X-2 Pi, 0-0) decreases firstly, and rises near the plate electrode, while the emission intensity of N-2(+) (B-2 Sigma(+)(u) --> X-2 Sigma(+)(g), 0-0, 391.4 nm) is nearly constant along the needle to plate direction firstly, and rises sharply near the plate electrode. The vibrational temperature of N-2 (C) is almost independent of the pulsed peak voltage and the pulsed repetition rate, but rises with increasing the O-2 flow rate and keeps nearly constant in the lengthwise direction. The main physicochemical processes involved are discussed.
Keywords:OH radicals;N-2(+) ions;spatially resolved spectra;pulsed streamer discharge;vibrational temperature