Electron collision cross sections for 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane (C₂H₂F₄) obtained by swarm analysis of transport coefficients in pure gas and its mixtures with argon

Abstract In this work, we present a revised set of electron collision cross sections for 1,1,1,2 tetrafluoroethane (C 2 H 2 F 4 ). The cross-section set is the result of a standard swarm analysis of measured drift velocities (W) and effective ionization coefficients (( α – η )/N) under pulsed-Townsend conditions, where α is the ionization coefficient, and η is the attachment coefficient. Calculations and numerical analysis are performed for pure C 2 H 2 F 4 and its mixtures with argon over a wide range of reduced electric fields E/N (where E is the electric field and N is the gas number density). A special attention was given to the region of low and moderate electron energies, where electron attachment and vibration excitation are dominant inelastic channels of scattering. The cross-section set we derive provides a good balance of energy, momentum, and the number of charged particles. Using a Monte Carlo simulation technique and the derived cross-section set as input, we calculate other transport coefficients and properties, such as characteristic energy, diffusion coefficients, and rate coefficients for individual collisional processes. We expect this cross-section set and electron swarm transport coefficients to be useful in modelling non-equilibrium plasmas as well as in studying resistive plate chambers in high-energy physics.