Nitric Oxide Generation with an Air Operated Non‐Thermal Plasma Jet and Associated Microbial Inactivation Mechanisms

Abstract

Chemical species that are generated by a plasma jet in a microhollow cathode discharge geometry when operated with air and a dc voltage were investigated. Nitric oxide (NO) is found as the dominant long‐lived reaction product with concentrations of several hundreds of ppm. In comparison, the concentrations observed for nitric dioxide (NO 2 ) and ozone (O 3 ) are negligible. The concentrations of NO are increasing with increasing electric power but decreasing with increasing flow rates. Simultaneously, NO 2 concentrations are increasing slightly. The results suggest that the observed far reaching biocidal effect of the plasma jet depends on the generation of nitric oxide.