On the carrier effect mechanism in relation to mass transport processes in the arc discharge

The time of residence of impurity atoms in the arc discharge is calculated. Diffusion, ion motion in the electric field, and ambipolar diffusion are taken into account. It is shown for the first time that ambipolar diffusion contributes significantly to the total particle flow from the arc discharge zone. The effect of charge exchange on the speed of ion motion in the arc is estimated. The influence of a carrier on the residence time of atoms in the arc discharge zone is calculated. Attention is paid to the peculiarities of the mechanism of the carrier effect associated with halide compounds. An attempt is made to explain the influence of halide compounds on the residence time of atoms in the arc using the considered model of mass transport. The velocities of mass transport and the time of atoms in the discharge zone are calculated for the are with and without halide containing substances. The initial parameters of calculation (discharge temperature, electron density, degree of ionization, and coefficient of atom diffusion) are partly measured and partly taken from the literature. The results of the calculation are compared with experimental data published in the literature. The adopted mass transport model adequately accounts for the influence of a carrier on the residence time of atoms in the arc discharge zone.     

An investigation into the role of metastable argon atoms in the afterglow plasma of a low pressure discharge

An investigation into the behaviour of metastable argon atoms in a low pressure (250 Pa) pulsed electrical discharge was undertaken in an effort to find the cause of the persisting emission from sputtered metal atoms in the afterglow of an atomic fluorimeter. Results obtained by time-resolved emission and absorption measurements of several argon and copper spectral lines indicate that low energy electrons in the afterglow are converted to high energy electrons via the recombination of electrons with argon ions and the subsequent collisions of pairs of metastable argon atoms. The high energy electrons excite the sputtered metal atoms to give rise to a slow decaying emission tail in the afterglow. A probable change in the electron energy distribution in the afterglow may also have an effect on the observed emission. This phenomenon may be reduced by the use of a suitable quenching gas.     

The effect of the sampling interface on spatial distributions of barium ions and atoms in an inductively coupled plasma ion source

Planar laser-induced fluorescence was used to examine the effect of the sampling cone on analyte atom and ion distributions in the inductively coupled plasma used as an ion source for elemental mass spectrometry. Comparisons of planar laser-induced fluorescence images in the presence and absence of the sampling interface reveal that the insertion of the sampling cone into the plasma dramatically lowers singly-charged ion densities in the 1–2 mm region immediately upstream from the sampling cone, but increases densities in the region between 2 mm and 10 mm upstream from the sampling cone. Some of the drops in densities near the sampling cone can be attributed to acceleration of the plasma through the pumped sampling orifice. A shift in equilibrium between doubly and singly charged barium ions caused by cooling of the plasma is proposed to account for the increases in densities of Ba⁺ in the upstream region.     

The effect of iodine in spectrochemical analysis of trace elements in the arc plasma

The addition of iodine increases the spectral-line intensity of elements present in traces in the arc plasma. This increase is particularly significant for elements having high ionization potentials. Besides the effect of iodine on the evaporation from the electrode, iodine exerts a certain effect on processes taking place in the arc plasma. The mechanism of the effect should be primarily related to decreased transport velocities of particles in the presence of iodine.     

射流携带床反应器液体停留时间分布及模拟

对射流携带床液体停留时间分布进行了研究,考察了液体流量、气体流量和气体动量对液体停留时间分布的影响。结果表明,增加液体流量使停留时间分布密度曲线变得高而窄,且平均停留时间变短;气体流量增大使得停留时间出峰略有提前,气体流量大于4L/min时,继续增大气体流量对液体停留时间分布影响较小;当液体流量小于60L/h时,气体动量对液体停留时间的影响较明显,主要表现气体动量越大液体平均停留时间越长。基于实验结果分析及实验中观测的现象,将射流携带床内液体流动结构分为中心区和壁面区进行研究,建立了描述射流携带床内液体停留时间分布的数学模型,模型模拟结果和实验数据吻合良好。     

Two-temperature modeling of an arc plasma reactor

In this paper a two-temperature plasma model is established and applied to the injection of cold gases into an atmospheric-pressure, high-intensity argon arc. The required nonequilibrium plasma composition and the non-equilibrium transport properties are also calculated. The results show that the arc becomes constricted at the location of gas injection due to thermal and fluid dynamic effects of the injected cold flow. Enhanced Joule heating in the constricted arc path raises the electron as well as the heavy-particle temperatures. This temperature increase resists, via secondary effects, the penetration of the cold gas into the hot arc core which behaves more or less as a solid body as far as the injected flow is concerned. The temperature discrepancy between electrons and heavy particles is most severe at the location of cold flow injection, a finding which may have important consequences on chemical reactions in an arc plasma reactor.     

Effects of metallic vapor on the properties of an argon arc plasma

During thermal plasma processing of materials, vapor generated from injected particulate matter will enter the plasma. Even traces of metallic vapors may have a strong effect on the properties and the behavior of the plasma and on the associated heat flux to the injected particles. In this paper a model system is considered in which an argon plasma at atmospheric pressure is contaminated by small amounts of copper vapor. By using the Chapman-Enskog approximation for a multicomponent gas mixture the transport properties are calculated for such a contaminated argon plasma. The results show that there is a drastic effect on the electrical properties. For temperatures below 10⁴ K, the electrical conductivity, for example, increases by more than an order of magnitude if metallic vapor is present. The presence of metallic contaminants is also somewhat felt by the reactional thermal conductivity. In contrast, there is no effect on the heavy-particle properties as long as the percentage of the contaminants remains small.     

A study of the density of sputtered atoms in the plasma of the modified Grimm-type glow discharge source

The sputtering of atoms from the cathode of a modified Grimm-type glow discharge source was studied using hollow cathode lamps as primary sources. Absorption of copper atoms at a distance of 1.5 mm from the cathode was measured, using different discharge conditions, with helium, neon, argon, krypton and nitrogen as carrier gases. For conditions with voltages at and above 800 V, the greatest absorption (copper atom concentration) was obtained using argon as carrier gas. Absorption by copper and chromium, measured at varying distances from the cathode and at different discharge conditions, shows a maximum between 1 and 2 mm from the cathode. This phenomenon can only be explained by cluster sputtering or cluster formation in the plasma. By using the Doppler temperatures of the emission and absorption sources to calculate line profile halfwidths, measured absorbances can be converted to atom number densities.A diffusion model has been formulated to describe the diffusion of sputtered atoms through the plasma which is in a steady state. From the agreement obtained with experimental results, it is concluded that in principle this diffusion model can be used to predict the spatial distribution of sputtered atoms in the plasma.     

A study of heterogeneous recombination of chlorine atoms on aluminum and copper surfaces in glow discharge plasma

The absolute values of the rate constants for heterogeneous recombination of chlorine atoms on the surface of aluminum and copper in the positive column of a glow discharge in Cl₂ have been determined using the pulse relaxation technique.     

The formation of carbon nanotubes on copper electrodes under the arc discharge conditions

The results of experiments on the pyrolysis of hydrocarbon gases in electric arc discharge between copper electrodes and the results of computer simulation by the method of molecular orbitals have been presented. The complex of studies of the plasma-chemical method of carbon nanotubes formation from carbon vapor showed the feasibility of growing carbon nanotubes on copper nanoparticles, which can be promoters for the reaction of the formation of hexagonal structures similar to carbon nanotubes.     

Unprecedented hour-long residence time of a cation in a left-handed G-quadruplex

Cations are critical for the folding and assembly of nucleic acids. In G-quadruplex structures, cations can bind between stacked G-tetrads and coordinate with negatively charged guanine carbonyl oxygens. They usually exchange between binding sites and with the bulk in solution with time constants ranging from sub-millisecond to seconds. Here we report the first observation of extremely long-lived K⁺ and NH₄⁺ ions, with an exchange time constant on the order of an hour, when coordinated at the center of a left-handed G-quadruplex DNA. A single-base mutation, that switched one half of the structure from left- to right-handed conformation resulting in a right–left hybrid G-quadruplex, was shown to remove this long-lived behaviour of the central cation.

An extremely long-lived cation has been detected in left-handed G-quadruplexes.     

Study of a hollow cathode arc discharge in the presence of chromium oxide

A hollow cathode arc discharge in hydrogen has been used for the purpose of chromium oxide reduction, the solid oxide being placed inside the anode. Mass transport from the oxide to the gas phase and excitation conditions in the plasma have been investigated. The results show that a substantial amount of oxide is transferred to the gas phase with subsequent reduction and deposition inside the cathode cavity, in the form of a pure metal. The residual part condenses on the discharge chamber wall as an amorphous substance, containing 50–60% of Cr metal, and on the anode surface under the form of a mixture of chromium oxide and metal crystals (10%). From spectroscopic investigations it follows that, inside the anode zone, total Cr concentration in the gas phase is of the order of 10¹⁴ cm^–3, the excitation temperature of the atoms and ions being 4500 and 5500 K, respectively, and the ionization temperature being about 6000 K.Notation I absolute spectral line intensity (W cm^–2 sr^–1) - emission coefficient (W cm^–3 sr^–1) - A relative absorption - absorption coefficient (cm^–1) - L plasma diameter (mm) - f _tk oscillator strength - _D full Doppler width (cm^–1) - S( ₀ L) Ladenburg-Levy function - wave number (cm^–1) - k _pl mass transport rate (mol cm^–2 s^–1) - k _th thermal reduction rate (mol cm^–2 s^–1) - u ion mobility (mm V^–1 s^–1 ) - E electric field strength (V mm^–1) - drift velocity (cm s^–1)     

Excitation temperatures of atoms and ions in a hollow cathode discharge

Excitation temperatures have been measured in a hollow cathode discharge from intensities of Ar I, Ar II, Ti I, Ti II, AI I, Mg I, Mg II, Cu I and Pb I lines. The differences between values derived from the species listed are discussed.     

The critical properties of alkanoic acids using a low residence time flow method

The critical temperatures and pressures of the alkanoic acids containing up to eight carbon atoms have been measured using a low residence time flow method. Our data have been compared with literature data whenever possible and several inconsistencies in the literature data been resolved by the present work. In particular, our data show that literature methods which require an appreciable residence time are likely to yield poor estimates of the critical properties of alkanoic acids.     

Description of a flowing cascade arc plasma

The plasma in a cascaded arc in argon with flow is studied both experimentally and theoretically. The plasma pressure has been measured as a function of axial position in the are channel with a Baratron pressure transducer. The electron density and the electron temperature have been determined as a function of axial position using H_β-Stark broadening and line-continuum emissivity ratio, respectively. Comparison of the gas pressure measurements with an equilibrium model suggests that the /low is laminar. A one-dimensional nonequilibrium model based on the electron- and heavy-particle number balances and the heavy-particle energy balance is presented. The measured axial profiles of the electron density agree well with the model predictions, especially in the most upstream part of the arc channel. The plasma is strongly ionizing. Temperature equilibration takes about 20 mm of arc length, depending on the argon flow.     

Oxidation of positronium atoms on a surface of oxidic catalyst carrier containing acid centres

By Born approximation the cross section of positronium (Ps) oxidation on acid centres localized on the surface of oxide carriers is calculated. Analysis of the kinetics of elementary processes in porous carriers based on aluminum oxide including processes of annihilation of positron, formation of Ps and oxidation of Ps on acid centres is given.     

Gas flow dynamics of an inductively coupled plasma discharge

Temperature and velocity distributions within a low power (0.5–0.75 kW) inductively coupled plasma discharge operating in argon have ben determined for various operating parameters including aerosol gas now rate, plasma gas flow rate, aerosol nozzle diameter, and input power level. All measurements were made without samples. The channel formed in the discharge by the aerosol gas now exhibits temperature and velocity characteristics which distinguishes it from the plasma core and wall regions. Maximum plasma temperature of 8700 ± 300 K and channel gas velocity of 120 $\text{m}\text{s}$ were found.     

The effect of electron correlation on the shell structure of atoms

The effect of electron correlation on the spherically averaged electron density (r) and the radial density distribution function D(r), exhibiting the shell structure of atoms, is studied, using basis sets consisting of contracted Gaussians, for the atoms Li through Ar. These effects were shown to be of smaller importance as compared to the effect associated to basis set extension.