Nanosecond time-resolved microscopic spectroscopy for diagnostics of an atmospheric-pressure discharge plasma formed in aqueous solution

Abstract

Glow discharge plasma formed in solution under atmospheric pressure has been expected to provide reaction fields with characteristic physical and chemical properties owing to the frequent collisions and reactions of reactive particles inside and the rapid quenching of the products by the surrounding cold solutions. In particular, when an aqueous solution is utilized as the surrounding solution, the atmospheric-pressure in-solution glow (ASG) plasma contains hydrogen and hydroxyl radicals showing large activities for reduction and oxidation, respectively. In addition, because the ASG plasma is formed under atmospheric pressure, the collision frequencies between the particles contained in the plasma are higher than those in other plasmas ordinarily formed under low pressure. This feature should result in rapid energy redistribution among particles contained in the plasma. In the present study, time-resolved optical emission spectroscopy with nanosecond time resolution was applied for the diagnostics of the ASG plasma with chemical species selectivity. The time-resolved measurements revealed that the temporal evolutions of the temperatures of blackbody, hydrogen radical, and hydroxyl radical contained in the ASG plasma consist of two stages: initial rise within 0.15 µs (rising stage) and fluctuation around certain values for about 1 µs (fluctuating stage). In the time region corresponding to the rising stage, the electron number density is about ten times larger than the value temporally averaged during the plasma emission. The initial rise should result from frequent collisions between charged particles accelerated by the applied voltage and unexcited particles. In the fluctuating stage, the electron number density strongly correlates with the increase in the radical temperatures. It is concluded that the electron number density, rather than the electron temperature, is a key parameter determining the temperatures of reactive species in the ASG plasma.