Mechanism of formation of SF₆ decomposition gas products and its identification by GC-MS and electrochemical methods: A mini review

The SF₆ is commonly used as an insulating gas in different applications; however the SF₆ can be easily exploded into different decomposition gas products when subjected to electrical discharge, such as electric arc, spark or corona. The resulting decomposition gas products are more toxic, corrosive and harmful to human beings and the environment. Till date, lots of attentions have been paid to monitor the SF₆ decomposition products; since the properties of SF₆ decomposition products are completely different from pure SF₆. The different methods for sensing the SF₆ decomposition products in the past few decades and the possible mechanism of decomposition of SF₆ into gaseous products by different discharge methods at the insulator surface are addressed in this review. In addition, two of the important methods, such as gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and electrochemical method, were highlights and discussed for the detection of SF₆ decomposition products.