Charging of aerosol and nucleation in atmospheric pressure electrical discharges

The paper focuses on applications of atmospheric pressure plasmas (dc corona, streamer, spark and ac dielectric barrier discharges (DBDs)) in aerosol processes for materials and environment. Since aerosol kinematics depends mainly on electric forces acting on charged particles, the two mechanisms of aerosol charging by the collection of ions are presented in corona, post-corona and DBDs. In such defined charging conditions, field and diffusion charging laws are depicted, with respect to applications of controlled kinematics of charged aerosol. Then key parameters controlling the formation by nucleation and the growth by coagulation of particles in plasmas are presented. Sources of vapor leading to nucleated nanoparticles are depicted in atmospheric pressure electrical discharges: (i) when filamentary dc streamer and spark as well as ac-DBDs interact with metal or dielectric surfaces and (ii) when discharges induce reactions with gaseous precursors in volume. In both cases, condensable gaseous species are produced, leading to nano-sized particles by physical and chemical routes of nucleation. The composition, size and structure of primary nanoparticles as well as the final size of agglomerates are related to plasma parameters (energy, number per unit surface and time and thermal gradients around each filament as well as the transit time).