Effect of plasma jet diameter on the efficiency of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species generation in water

Abstract

The plasma jet generation of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS) in solution is important in biology, medicine, and disinfection. Studies using a wide variety of plasma jet devices have been carried out for this purpose, making it difficult to compare the performance between devices. In this study, we compared the efficiency of RONS generation in deionized (DI) water between 3.7-mm- and 800-µm-sized helium (He) plasma jets (hereafter mm-jet and µm-jet, respectively) at different treatment distances and times. The efficiency of RONS generation was determined by considering the total amount of RONS generated in DI water with respect to the input energy and gas consumption. We found that the mm-jet generated 20% more RONS in the DI water than the µm-jet at the optimized distance. However, when the input power and He gas consumption were taken into account, we discovered that the µm-jet was 5 times more efficient in generating RONS in the DI water. Under the parameters investigated in this study, the concentration of RONS continued to increase as a function of treatment time (up to 30 min). However treatment distance had a marked effect on the efficiency of RONS generation: treatment distances of 25 and 30 mm were optimal for the mm-jet and µm-jet, respectively. Our method of comparing the efficiency of RONS generation in solution between plasma jets could be used as a reference protocol for the development of efficient plasma jet sources for use in medicine, biology, and agriculture.