Generation of an atmospheric pressure nonequilibrium diffuse discharge in air by means of a water electrode

The generation and maintenance of large volume, low-temperature, high-pressure plasmas in air remain a formidable challenge. Toward this goal, several methods, which include the use of dielectric barrier discharges (DBDs) and the resistive barrier discharge (RBD) have been investigated by our group with some limited success. Here, we report on a promising method that we have been developing in our laboratory: a diffuse, nonthermal discharge, in atmospheric pressure air, generated between a planar disk-shaped metal electrode and a second electrode made of a static volume of water contained in a shallow glass dish. Presently, we have used only tap water as one of the electrodes. However, other liquids with low conductivity could also be used. In this paper, the current-voltage characteristics and gas temperature measurements of the discharge are presented. Potential applications of this atmospheric pressure discharge include decontamination, radiation sources, etc.