A Global Model for the Identification of the Dominant Reactions for Atomic Oxygen in He/O-2 Atmospheric-Pressure Plasmas

Abstract

Atmospheric pressure plasmas have attracted great interests and been widely used in biomedical applications such as sterilization, coagulation, wound healing, and cancer cells treatment. The reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated in atmospheric pressure plasmas have been believed to play a crucial role in these biomedical applications. The experimental measurement of the atomic oxygen density showed that the highest density was measured at an admixture of 0.5% of O-2. The similar trend of the atomic oxygen density varying the concentration of O-2 was reproduced through a global model of He/O-2 in atmospheric pressure plasmas. The evolution of the dominant production and loss reactions for the atomic oxygen was analyzed. With increase in the concentration of O-2, the atomic oxygen was produced mainly by the dissociation of O-2 and lost through the recombinations with themselves and oxygen molecules.