Plasma treatment of aqueous solutes: Some chemical properties of a glidingarc in humid air

The chemical properties of the gaseous species generated in a humid air gli ding are discharge are investigated. Aqueous solutions are used as the targ ets exposed to the plasma, and this allo rvs to evidence strong acid and ox idizing effects on various solutes by means of spectrometric or potentiomet ric methods. The influence of some working parameters such as the input gas flow, the distance from the electrodes to the target or the electrode gap is examined on the chemical transform and simple experimental laws are deri ved. A general feature is observed for oxidation and suggests the occurrenc e of an auto-catalytic step in the relevant kinetic mechanism.