Synthesis of Ammonia through Direct Chemical Reactions between an Atmospheric Nitrogen Plasma Jet and a Liquid

Abstract

Fundamental chemical reactions between an atmospheric nitrogen plasma jet and water or a water/ethanol solution have been investigated. When the nitrogen plasma jet was injected directly into pure water, active ni- trogen species produced nitric acid and ammonia through fatal reactions with H2O. The interaction between nitrogen plasma and a liquid mixture of pure water and ethanol produced NH4+ ions effectively. These exper- imental results clearly show that the active nitrogen species in the pulsed-discharge atmospheric plasma can interact strongly with materials in solution to extract oxygen or hydrogen from them and add atomic nitrogen to them.