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The Influence of Electric Field on the Rate of Formation of Positive Hydrated Ions in Plasma-Containing Water Vapor
Properties of hydrated Н3О+(Н2О)n ions exposed to different electric fields in pure О2, N2, and air were simulated by the Monte Carlo method. Average energy of ions in these gases was determined as a function of reduced electric field. The data on the dependence of the rate of formation of hydrated ions as a function of reduced electric field available in literature was analyzed based on the obtained results in the low-pressure limit. It is demonstrated that the rate constants depend on ion heating by an electric field much less than on simultaneous heating of ions and neutral particles under the conditions of thermodynamic equilibrium. Obtained data is used for determining the rate constants of formation of hydrated ions in air plasma in a wide range of gas pressures and magnitudes of the reduced electric field.