Electrical Discharges in Mixtures of Light and Heavy Water

Pulsed electrical discharges in pure solutions and mixtures of light and heavy water are examined. The concentration of H2O2 formed by electrical discharge in 100% H2O was found to be 1.4 times smaller than that of D2O2 produced by electrical discharge in 100% D2O. This difference in peroxide formation was due to the high reactivity of OH radicals with other species in the plasma channel, thereby reducing OH recombination to form H2O2, while the lower reactivity of OD radicals with other species allowed more OD recombination reactions to form D2O2. A new method based on Raman spectroscopy was also developed to quantify H2O2, D2O2, and HDO2 in mixtures containing all three species.