Abstract
Laser-plasma chemistry has become a rapidly rising field in science and technology. Current interest in the process called laser-induced dielectric breakdown, while the phenomenon is called a laser spark, is mainly motivated by a rapidly growing area of their applications in the study of chemical reactions and their utilization in chemical analysis.
A systematic study of chemical reactions initiated by laser sparks is based on finding simple reproducible conditions for the formation of small biomolecules, the preparation of well-defined fine particles, laser ignition of fuel mixtures, and so on. Research on LIDB-initiated chemical reactions has been triggered again recently by the advent of nanotechnologies.
The systematic part of this contribution describes the laser-plasma-chemical behaviour of simple inorganic gases and their mixtures, and metallic and organic vapours. The strongest motivation for the studying laser-spark chemistry comes from the planetary sciences, where laser sparks have been used as a laboratory model of high-energy-density phenomena (e.g., cometary impact, lightning) in planetary atmospheres.
This contribution is primarily focused on the laser-plasma chemistry of homogeneous gases, but chemical consequences of LIDB in liquids (laser cavitation) and on liquid-solid and gas-solid interfaces are also briefly reviewed. Particular processes responsible for the chemical action of a laser spark are identified and discussed.