INVESTIGATION OF THE OZONE FORMATION PROCESS IN A NANOSECOND MICROWAVE-DISCHARGE IN AIR AND OXYGEN

Results are presented from an investigation of the dynamics of ozone f ormation in a freely localized discharge generated by a periodic train of 3-cm nanostructured microwave pulses in oxygen and air at a pressu re p = 3-30 Torr. Conditions for the efficient generation of ozone in air with the minimum production of nitrogen oxides are demonstrated ex perimentally. It is shown that when the microwave pulse repetition fre quency is high, heating of the gas and the buildup of nitrogen oxides in the discharge in air reduce the ozone formation efficiency while un der prolonged exposure the ozone formed initially is destroyed. The en ergy cost of forming ozone in oxygen and air is determined as a functi on of the microwave pulse length and repetition frequency and the gas pressure. The lowest energy cost of forming a single ozone molecule in these experiments is 16 eV per molecule for a discharge in air and 4 eV per molecule in oxygen. It was observed that circulating the gas th rough the discharge zone enhances th ozone formation efficiency. It is shown that there are optimal conditions for ozone formation as a func tion of the reduced electric field in the plasma. (C) 1997 American In stitute of Physics.