Arrays of microplasmas for the controlled production of tunable high fluxes of reactive oxygen species at atmospheric pressure

The atmospheric-pressure generation of singlet delta oxygen (O2(a 1Δg)) by microplasmas was experimentally studied. The remarkable stability of microcathode sustained discharges (MCSDs) allowed the operation of dc glow discharges, free from the glow-to-arc transition, in He/O2/NO mixtures at atmospheric pressure. From optical diagnostics measurements we deduced the yield of O2(a 1Δg). By operating arrays of several MCSDs in series, O2(a 1Δg) densities higher than 1.0 × 1017 cm−3 were efficiently produced and transported over distances longer than 50 cm, corresponding to O2(a 1Δg) partial pressures and production yields greater than 5 mbar and 6%, respectively. At such high O2(a 1Δg) densities, the fluorescence of the so-called O2(a 1Δg) dimol was observed as a red glow at 634 nm up to 1 m downstream. Parallel operation of arrays of MCSDs was also implemented, generating O2(a 1Δg) fluxes as high as 100 mmol h−1. In addition, ozone (O3) densities up to 1016 cm−3 were obtained. Finally, the density ratio of O2(a 1Δg) to O3 was finely and easily tuned in the range [10−3–10+5], through the values of the discharge current and NO concentration. This opens up opportunities for a large spectrum of new applications, making this plasma source notably very useful for biomedicine.