Surface Catalyzed Reaction Efficiencies in Air Plasmas Using Laser Induced Fluorescence Measurements

Abstract

Recent efforts to advance laser diagnostics in plasma facilities have resulted in the capability to measure gradients of temperature and species in the reacting zone above a hightemperature material. These measurements allow a direct quantitative estimate of the surface-catalyzed reaction efficiency when the spatial distribution of the reactive species is compared with measurements over reference materials. Measurements of temperature, relative nitrogen atom density, relative oxygen atom density, and relative NO molecule density in a chemically reacting boundary layer were performed in air plasmas to elucidate the behavior of catalytic efficiencies.