The effect of bending angle on a flexible electrode DBD plasma under sinusoidal excitation

Abstract There is a critical demand for sophisticated surface disinfection and sterilization devices accessible to the public by using cold atmospheric pressure air plasmas. A flexible printed circuit design of a dielectric barrier discharge reactor (flex-DBD) under non-bending and two bending configurations with an angle of 120° and 180° was studied. The characteristics of power consumption, the optical emission spectrum, dynamic process, electrode temperature and ozone concentration are evaluated. The non-bending configuration produces more O3, as compared to the bending configuration at the same applied voltage. The 180-degree configuration has a maximum concentration of excited species at the expense of higher electrode temperature. Both bending configurations demonstrated the propagation of filaments to bending axis where the continues luminescence is observed due to the high electrical field. The energy efficiency for plasma-generated reactive species reaches to 40 % for non-bending configuration and decreases with the increase of bending angle. This research provides a new strategy for perspective into the plasma generated reactive species in biomedical and environmental applications.