Pulse positive streamer corona discharges in water solution with a different conductivity have been investigated in reactors with the needle-plate and coaxial electrode geometry. A special composite anode was used in the coaxial geometry. With such an anode hundreds of streamers were generated at each voltage pulse. Production of H, O and OH radicals by the discharge was proved by emission spectroscopy and formation of H 2 O 2 and degradation of phenol was demonstrated by chemical methods. Assuming that the broadening of the Hα line profile was caused by the dynamic Stark effect, plasma with an electron density over 10 18 cm −3 was generated during the initial phase of voltage pulse in the both reactors in spite of the very different electrode geometry and wave-forms of voltage pulses. Production of OH radicals was most effective at solution conductivity below 100 µS cm −1 .

In this work, we examine initial phases of micro-discharges produced in deionised water by high-voltage (HV) pulses of nanosecond duration. We apply opto-electrical diagnostics with extremely high temporal (down to 30 ps) as well as spatial (down to 1 μm) resolution. Frozen interferometric and shadowgraph images show three distinct events. The first, the subcritical (no-discharge) event, is characterised by periodic perturbations of the index of refraction which depart from the anode surface and are pulled away at the speed of sound as an expanding envelope defined by the shape of the anode tip. One-dimensional hydrodynamic modelling of the subcritical phase under conditions mimicking curvatures of real anode tips reveals basic characteristics of perturbations caused by dynamic balance between the hydrostatic and electrostrictive pressures consistent with experimental observations. The second, the dark or non-luminous discharge event, is characterised by the onset of a few isolated very tiny tree-like structures growing from the anode tip. Depending on the HV amplitude, the initial structures occur with a delay of ∼2-3 ns after onset of the HV pulse and subsequently expand with average velocity of ∼1 × 10 5 -2 × 10 5 m s −1 , creating very dense bush-like structures made of thin hair-like filaments in a few nanoseconds. The third, the luminous discharge event, follows (nearly simultaneously) the dark discharge event and unveils much simpler tree-like morphology determined by the extension of non-luminous bush-like structures. Characteristic dimensions of observed events range from about 1 μm (typical diameter of non-luminous filaments) to tens of micrometres (characteristic diameters of luminous filaments). Furthermore, we address a possible role of microbubbles developing in the anode region due to the periodic HV pulses and verify that the UV-vis-NIR spectrometric signatures of the luminous phase notably change when replacing non-degassed deionised water with degassed.

Basic electrical, optical and calorimetric characteristics of an ac (50 Hz) driven capillary discharge produced in a water solution were studied for initial water solution conductivity in the range 50-1000 µS cm −1 . Typical current and voltage waveforms and emission intensities produced by several electronically excited species were recorded with high time resolution. The evolution of the electrical current, power and capillary resistance was inspected during positive ac half-cycle for various operational regimes. A fast relaxation of the discharge following a breakdown event was observed. Optical measurements indicate that radiative species are mostly generated during the first few hundreds of nanoseconds of plasma generation and that the average duration of plasma emission induced by a discharge pulse is of the order of a few microseconds. Results of calorimetric measurements are in good agreement with average electrical measurements and support the assumption that the discharge is a constant source of heat delivered to the liquid. Assuming that only a fraction of the heat released inside the capillary can be transported by conduction through the capillary wall and via its orifices, the processes of bubble formation, expulsion and re-filling the capillary with 'fresh' water must play a key role in maintaining a thermal balance during long-time steady-state operation of the device. Furthermore, a simplified numerical model and a first order energy deposition calculation prove the plausibility of the bubble breakdown mechanism.

There is no clear experimental evidence of the underlying microscopic physical mechanisms of micro-discharges directly produced in liquids. In this study, we examine shadowgraph images and plasma-induced emission (PIE) to decouple simultaneously developing dark and luminous phases of micro-discharges with nanosecond durations in liquid water. We apply diagnostics with extremely high temporal (down to 30 ps) and spatial (down to 1 μm) resolutions to capture tiny bush-like dark filaments that expand from the anode tip together with the formation of luminous tree-like structures. For the first time, we disentangle two closely coupled dark and luminous phases of the discharge events and determine their onsets accurately with respect to the driving high-voltage (HV) pulse. The dark filaments start appearing within ∼3–4 ns after the onset of the HV pulse, and subsequently expand at a constant velocity of ∼1 × 105–2 × 105 m s−1, depending on the HV amplitude and anode curvature. A systematic analysis of the PIE waveforms using the associated shadowgraph images reveals that the onset of the luminous discharge phase is delayed by ∼600–800 ps with respect to the onset of the initial dark filament structures. Considering the constant propagation velocity of dark filaments, the luminous phase starts to develop when the extension of regions with a perturbed refractive index (i.e., perturbed density) reaches several tens of micrometres. An analysis of PIE tracks within the captured shadowgraph images confirms that luminous filaments develop only in regions affected by primary dark filaments and their attachment to the anode surface coincides with points of initial onset of the first dark filaments. Furthermore, the emission intensity produced during the luminous phase originates from the luminous filaments developing in the bulk liquid. Our study provides an important insight into the dynamics of different phases of micro-discharges in de-ionised water.

The microscopic physical mechanisms of micro-discharges produced in liquid waters by nanosecond high-voltage pulses are quite complex phenomena, and relevant coherent experimentally supported theoretical descriptions are yet to be provided. In this study, by combining a long-distance microscope with a four-channel image splitter fitted with four synchronised intensified charge-coupled device detectors, we obtained and analysed sequences of microscopic discharge images acquired with sub-nanosecond temporal resolution during a single event. We tracked luminous filaments either through monochromatic images at two specific wavelengths (532 and 656 nm) or through broadband integrated UV–vis–near infrared (NIR) discharge emission. An analysis of the sequences of images capturing discharge filaments in subsequent time windows facilitated the tracking of movement of the luminous fronts during their expansion. The velocity of expansion progressively decreased from the maximum of ~2.3 × 105 m/s observed close to the anode pin until the propagation stopped due to the drop in the anode potential. We demonstrate the basic features characterising the development of the luminous discharge filaments. Our study provides an important insight into the dynamics of micro-discharges during the primary and successive reflected high-voltage pulses in de-ionised water.