Kinetics of organic molecules in pulsed plasmas of nitrogen or N₂/O₂ mixtures at near atmospheric pressure

In plasmas of atmospheric gases, the kinetics of some aliphatic organic molecules belonging to the hydrocarbons (propene, propane), aldehydes (acetaldehyde) and ketones (acetone) families were studied using a photo-triggered discharge (homogeneous plasma). It was shown that quenchings of N₂ metastable states, A ³Σ_u⁺ and the group of singlets a^{′ 1}Σ_u⁻, a ¹Π_g and w ¹Δ_u, are important processes for the decomposition of such molecules. It plays a fundamental role in the nitrogen plasma, but it is also present in air. At low temperature, the oxidation reactions by the oxygen atom or by the hydroxyl radical are not always sufficiently effective to induce an increase of the molecule decomposition when oxygen is added to the nitrogen/organic mixture. For most cases, quenching processes appear purely dissociative. However, recent results obtained for propene lead to the conclusion that a non-dissociative exit route could exist. The quenching of the singlet states induces a break of the double bound C = O for the acetaldehyde and acetone molecules. Some kinetic analogies appear between filamentary and homogeneous plasmas, which could be very useful to get a comprehensive understanding of the physico-chemical processes in dielectric barriers or corona discharges used for various applications. (paper)