Generation of various radicals in nitrogen plasma and their behavior in media

Abstract

Research on the generation of radicals in nitrogen plasma shows that the most dominant radicals are excited nitrogen molecules in the metastable state of N2(A3∑u+). Hydroxyl molecules are generated from the dissociation of water molecules upon contact with excited nitrogen molecules. The estimated densities of various radicals in nitrogen plasma with an electron temperature of 1 eV are presented in this study. The behavior of these radicals in media is also investigated. Excited nitrogen molecules in the N2(A3∑u+) state from a plasma jet are injected into water, after which the molecules disappear instantaneously within a few tens of nm, producing hydroxyl molecules. Hydrogen peroxide, hydrogen dioxide, and nitrogen monoxide molecules can diffuse much deeper into water, implying the possibility that a chemical reaction between hydrogen dioxide and nitrogen monoxide molecules produces hydroxyl molecules in deep water, even though density in this case may not be very high.