Generation of a low-temperature plasma in a nozzle to initiate ion-cluster reactions in jets of mixtures of methane with a buffer gas

We have considered the option of generating cluster ions directly at the nozzle by initiating an electric discharge. Here, a low-temperature plasma in the flow is formed as a result of the outflow of a partially ionized gas. Conditions for the formation of clusters in the presence of excited particles are provided downstream. To implement this generation option, a scheme for creating an effective discharge in the diffuser part of a supersonic nozzle was proposed and implemented. The diagnostic system of the LEMPUS-2 gas-dynamic facility was adapted to register processes in a supersonic flow of ionized gas with clusters. Molecular nitrogen, which is weakly condensing under experimental conditions, was used as the primary reference gas. The methods of molecular beam mass spectrometry were used to study gas mixtures consisting of 20% methane in an inert carrier gas. Highly condensable argon and practically non-condensable helium were used as carrier gases. It was found that when using the ionized particle selection system for detection, only methane monomers and dimers are registered in mixtures with argon, whereas in mixtures with helium larger clusters are registered. A version of the explanation of the detected dependencies was presented.