Regenerative Soot-III: Role of the kinetic and potential sputtering in the regeneration of the soot

TL;DR

This study investigates how kinetic and potential sputtering contribute to soot regeneration in a graphite hollow cathode discharge, highlighting the dominant role of metastable neon atoms in the process.

Contribution

It identifies the specific roles of kinetic and potential sputtering in soot regeneration, emphasizing the importance of neon metastable atoms through photoemission spectroscopy.

Findings

Ne metastable atoms are the primary agents for soot regeneration.

Relative densities of sputtered carbon and neon ions were analyzed.

Metastable atoms play a dominant role in the process.

Abstract

We have used the photoemission spectroscopy of the graphite hollow cathode sooting discharge to identify the roles played by the kinetic and potential sputtering, respectively. Our indicators are the relative densities of the sputtered carbon C, the Ne metastable atoms, and the ionized components (Ne+) of the regenerative sooting plasma. We find that the metastable atoms are the main agents for the regeneration of the soot.