The expression 'dielectric barrier discharge' is used to describe a non-equilibrium electrical discharge configuration characterised by the presence of at least one discharge space and one dielectric barrier between two conducting electrodes. These discharges operate on AC, typically at high voltages ( kV's), high pressures (0.1 - 10 bar) and over a wide range of frequencies (50 Hz - 1MHz) producing a multitude of thin micro-discharge filaments or channels within the discharge space.
The first significant application of this type of discharge was in 1857 when Siemens used a co-axial tube configuration to partially convert oxygen to ozone [1]. More recently, rare-gas excimer formation has been extensively studied [2,3], a version of the discharge has been used to excite a pulsed CO2 laser [4], applications have been developed as chemical reactors for removal of gaseous pollutants or synthesis of gas-phase compounds [5] and the discharges have demonstrated potential for applications in surface treatment.
This paper will present a brief summary of the recent investigations at CSIRO - TIP relating to the use of dielectric barrier discharges and their potential as chemical reactors and surface treatment devices.
1. Siemens W, Poggendorffs Ann Phys Chem, 102, 66-122 (1857)
2. Tanaka Y, J Opt Soc Am, 45, 710-3 (1955)
3. Eliasson B & Kogelschatz U, App Phys B, 46, 299-303 (1988)
4. Takenaka Y et al, IEEE J Quantum Electron, 27,
2482-7 (1991)
5. Rosocha L A et al
, 2nd Int'l Conf on Environmental Applications of Advanced Oxidation
Technologies, San Francisco, Feb 1996