Computation of emission characteristics of Ar–Fe arc plasma column during the synthesis of nano particles of Fe-oxides

The article reports the results of the computationally determined radiative emission characteristics of a transferred arc argon plasma source used in plasma-assisted nano particles synthesis of Fe-oxides. A thermodynamic code uses a spectroscopic database to compute internal partition functions and densities of various charged states in argon–iron vapor plasma system during the synthesis of Fe-oxides. The net amount of radiation emitted by the plasma at different axial positions along the column has been monitored by optical emission spectroscopy. It was also used to determine the amount of metal vapors mixing inside the plasma column during the synthesis process. The net emission coefficient estimated along a certain line of sight shows an effective increase even for a small inclusion of Fe vapors (0.11%) inside the column. It has been noticed that the radiations emitted by the plasma inside the reactor chamber might also be one of the factors, controlling the crystalline phase of Fe-oxide particles.