Microdischarges formed in bubbles immersed in liquids are of interest for materials synthesis and chemical conversion applications in the frame of plasma-driven electrochemistry. A key challenge associated with controlling such processes is the limited understanding of the gas-phase chemical kinetics in these microdischarges. Due to their large electron densities, and high gas temperatures, both electron and gas temperature-driven chemistry are likely to be important. Here, a 0-D modeling approach, informed by experimental measurements, is used to study the chemical kinetics in these systems. A new reaction scheme is developed for microdischarges in water vapor, including reactions for both high electron density, and high gas temperature regimes. Microdischarges formed during plasma electrolytic oxidation are used as a test case, however, the key results are expected to be transferable to other plasma electrolysis systems with similar properties. Experimentally measured power densities are used as input to the 0-D model, together with estimates of temperatures and gas pressures within the gas bubble. Comparison of measured and simulated electron densities shows good agreement, given the limitations of both model and experiment. In the base case microdischarge, H2O is found to be highly dissociated during the period of peak power density, with H and O making up the majority of the neutral gas in the bubble. The maximum ionization degree is around 0.31%, and the electronegativity during the period of peak electron density is found to be low. Species formation and reaction pathways are analyzed under variation of the neutral gas temperature from 2000 K to 6000 K. At all temperatures, electron, ion, and neutral reactions with high threshold energies are found to be important for the overall chemical kinetics.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Publisher | |
| Authors | |
| Release Date | 2025-12-04 |
| Identifier | b75d9e9f-3983-4324-b035-9003799949d0 |
| Permanent Identifier (URI) | |
| Is supplementing | |
| Plasma Source Name | |
| Plasma Source Application | |
| Plasma Source Specification | |
| Plasma Source Properties | Experimental setup designed for studying single microdischarges (SMDs) during plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) within a quartz-glass tube.
Anode: aluminum wire (99.9995%), 1 mm diameter, promotes isolated discharges at the wire tip (discharge lifetimes: few to several hundred µs).
Mounting: wire fixed with a PEEK holder and sealed using a heat-resistant Viton O-ring to protect insulation from local temperatures of several thousand K.
Cathode: stainless steel electrode positioned inside the cell.
Electrolyte admixture: approximately 180 ml distilled water with 1 g/l KOH.
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| Language | English (United States) |
| License | |
| Plasma Medium Name | |
| Plasma Medium Properties | Plasma electrolytic oxidation is performed with a mixture of distilled water with the addition of 1 g/l potassium hydroxide. |
| Plasma Target Name | |
| Contact Name | Grimm, Florens |
| Plasma Target Properties | 1mm Aluminium wire Puratronic 99.9995% |
| Contact Email | |
| Plasma Diagnostic Properties | A high-speed camera (VEO 410L IMP, Vision Research) operating at 150000fps is combined with backlighting (UHP 100W/120W 1.0, Phillips), enabling the observation of individual bubbles and microdischarges. Optical emission during the PEO process is measured using a compact, low-resolution spectrometer (QE65000, Ocean Optics). |
| Public Access Level | Public |
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Data and Resources
- Electron and gas temperature-driven chemistry during microdischarges formed in water vapor bubbleszip
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- experimental data to reproduce the presented power density...

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