STUDY OF DECOMPOSITION OF SULFUR-HEXAFLUORIDE BY GAS-CHROMATOGRAPHY MASS-SPECTROMETRY

When electrical discharges occur in sulphur hexafluoride gas (SF6) low er fluorides are produced within the discharge, and they in turn react readily with impurities, insulators and the electrodes, The final sta ble compounds formed include sulphur oxyfluorides and sulphur oxides. The aim of the present work was to optimize an analytical method for d etermining the decomposition products, and finding the dependence of t he reaction route followed on the reaction conditions (input energy, c ontaminants present in the system), By performing model experiments an d using various GC/MS techniques, several decomposition products were identified and correlations found between the abundances of the indivi dual components and the decomposition conditions. (C) 1997 by John Wil ey & Sons, Ltd.