Charge-Dipole Acceleration of Polar Gas Molecules towards Charged Nanoparticles: Involvement in Powerful Charge-Induced Catalysis of Heterophase Chemical Reactions and Ball Lightning Phenomenon
Figure 12
The stages of stepped exothermal oxidation of iron metal nanoparticles by surrounding polar molecules of water vapour successively alternate with stages of thermal dehydration of these nanoparticles to periodically convert the FeOOH/Fe(OH)2 based electrolyte shells of the nanoparticles into the Fe3O4/Fe2O3 based semiconducting shells. Electrostatic oxidative adsorption of water vapour molecules forms a hydroxide based site on the charged nanoparticle surface. Such periodic oxidative electroadsorption of water vapour is accompanied by local evolving hydrogen gas. The hydrogen gas can autoignite in humid air, heating the nanoparticle and so again dehydrating it. These electrostatic oxidative hydration/thermal dehydration alternating processes will repeat time and again. A final reaction product will consist of almost completely oxidized nanoparticles. The alternating stages of the nanoparticle’s hydration/dehydration are accompanied by a successive change of electrophysical characteristics of the core/shell junctions within the nanoparticles, from the iron metal/iron hydroxide electrolyte junctions to iron metal/iron oxide semiconductor junctions, and then in the opposite direction. These periodic changes of the nanoparticle’s surface characteristics can cause a successive intra-particle electron-ion transfer. Thus, the surface of the charged metal nanoparticle can continuously modify its composition and structure from metal oxide into metal oxy-hydroxide into metal hydroxide, then in the opposite direction and so forth, through such a self-oscillating thermocycling process of nanoparticle’s humid air oxidation. An alternating electrostatic intensity of ~one billion volts/metre will be generated inside the surface layers at each new stage of their repeating electrostatic hydration or thermal hydration. Correspondingly, the field or thermionic electron emission intraparticle breakdowns will occur at each stage of such reincreasing of core/shell electrostatic intensity.
