Modelling the Low‐Pressure N2O2 Plasma Afterglow to Determine the Kinetic Mechanisms Controlling the UV Emission Intensity and Its Spatial Distribution for Achieving an Efficient Sterilization Process

The flowing afterglow of a N2O2 microwave discharge intended to provide intense and spatially uniform UV emission for an efficient inactivation of bacterial spores is modelled with a 3‐D hydrodynamic model leading to the spatial density distribution of the species in the reactor. The agreement of the calculated densities of the NO(A) and NO(B) UV emitting species with the corresponding measured emission intensities strongly supports the choice of the kinetic reactions retained in the model. In that respect, the specific contribution of N and O atoms to the spatial distribution of the NO(A) density (generating the NOγ system) in the late afterglow is, for the first time, brought into relief. magnified image