Ethanol solution as a disinfectant has been widely used in various fields. However, it has a significant bactericidal capability only when the volume fraction of ethanol is around 70%–75%. For such high concentration of ethanol solution, it has an irritating smell. When it is used for applications such as wound disinfection, it causes a stinging sensation. Low concentrations of ethanol solution are less irritating, but it is also less effective at killing bacteria. In this study, an idea for producing a green, efficient and less irritating disinfectant is proposed. It is based on a plasma-activated low-concentration ethanol solution (PAES). It is found that the plasma-activated 10% volume fraction of ethanol solution can kill more than seven orders of magnitude of Escherichia coli, while the untreated 10% volume fraction of ethanol solution has no bactericidal effect. Besides, the PAES's activity remains unchanged after being stored at $-20°\mathrm{C}$ for three days. Further investigation shows that new compositions including peracetic acid, peroxynitrite, hydrogen peroxide and acetic acid are detected in the PAES, which together are playing the main role of the excellent and prolonged bactericidal effect.

中文翻译：

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等离子体活化乙醇溶液及其去污效果

乙醇溶液作为消毒剂已广泛应用于各个领域。但只有当乙醇的体积分数在70%~75%左右时，它才具有显着的杀菌能力。如此高浓度的乙醇溶液，有刺激性气味。当它用于伤口消毒等应用时，会引起刺痛感。低浓度的乙醇溶液刺激性较小，但杀灭细菌的效果也较差。在这项研究中，提出了生产绿色、高效、低刺激性消毒剂的想法。它基于等离子体激活的低浓度乙醇溶液 (PAES)。研究发现，等离子体激活的10%体积分数的乙醇溶液可杀灭七个数量级以上的大肠杆菌，而未经处理的10%体积分数的乙醇溶液则没有杀菌作用。此外，PAES 的活性在存储后保持不变$-20°\mathrm{C}$三天。进一步研究发现，PAES中检测到了过氧乙酸、过氧亚硝酸盐、过氧化氢和乙酸等新成分，它们共同发挥了优异且持久的杀菌效果的主要作用。