The yields of radical products in water decomposition under discharges with electrolytic electrodes

The features of generation, combination, and scavenging of primary radicals under the action of an atmospheric-pressure glow discharge and microdischarges on electrolytic electrodes were compared. A profound difference in chemical effects was revealed at different polarities of the electrolytic electrode. The identity of water decomposition mechanisms was demonstrated for the electrolytic cathode in the case of a stationary discharge over the surface and for the arrays of quasi-stationary microdischarges at the valve anode immersed in the solution. The assumption that the generation of primary water decomposition products in a discharge system with an electrolytic cathode is predominantly due to ionization in the liquid phase at the expense of the kinetic energy of accelerated particles arriving from the discharge to the solution was confirmed.