Variation of the evolved oxygen–hydrogen peroxide ratio with traversed volume and input power in the discharged water vapour system

Abstract

A Tesla coil driven, electrodeless discharge in water vapour gives only small yields of hydrogen peroxide and ‘evolved’ oxygen when the condensate trapped at 81 °K, is warmed. Peroxide is formed only on a sufficiently cold surface. A study of the change in ‘evolved’ oxygen and peroxide yields with input power at several traversed volumes indicates that a correction can be made for oxygen occuluded in the condensate. Although the hydrogen peroxide yield increases with increasing traversed volume and the uncorrected ‘evolved’ oxygen yield is independent of traversed volume the corrected ‘evolved’ oxygen: peroxide ratio is 0·34 ± 0·06 over a large range of traversed volume values, suggesting that the hydrogen peroxide and ‘evolved’ oxygen precursor or precursors are rather long lived under the conditions involved here. It is not possible to decide whether the ‘evolved’ oxygen is formed by the thermal decomposition of hydrogen superoxide or by the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide.