Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 16, 2026

Non-equilibrium Microwave Plasma for Efficient High Temperature Chemistry
Published on: August 1, 2017
Mechanism of NO reduction with non-thermal plasma
Gang Yu1, Qi Yu, Yan-Long Jiang
1Education Ministry Key Laboratory on Clean Coal Power Generation and Combustion Technology, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China. gangyu@nuaa.edu.cn
Abstract:
Non-thermal plasma has been proved to be an effective and competitive technology for removing NO in flue gas since 1970. In this paper, the NO reduction mechanism of the non-thermal plasma reaction in NO/N2/O2 system was investigated using the method of spectral analysis and quantum chemistry. By the establishment of NO reduction and gas discharge plasma emission spectrum measuring system, the NO reduction results, gas discharge emission spectra of NO/N2/O2 and pure N2 were obtained, and then the model of molecular orbit of N2 either in ground state or its excited state was worked out using the method of molecular orbit Ab initio in Self-Consistent Field (SCF). It was found that NO reduction in NO/N2 gas discharge plasma was achieved mainly through a series of fast elementary reactions and the N(E6) at excited state was the base for NO reduction.
Related Concept Videos
Oxidation-Reduction Reactions
Nitriles to Amines: LiAlH4 Reduction
As shown below, the mechanism involves three steps. Firstly, the hydride ion acting as a nucleophile attacks the nitrile carbon to form an anion. In the second step, a second equivalent of the hydride ion attacks the anion to...
Reduction of Alkynes to trans-Alkenes: Sodium in Liquid Ammonia
When dissolved in liquid ammonia, an alkali metal, such as sodium, dissociates into a...
Redox Equilibria: Overview
Phase I Reactions: Reductive Reactions
Redox Reactions

