The flame can be viewed as a kind of chem-ionized plasma which contains positive ions, negative ions and electrons.
What is the distribution of negative charges in flames? Is the electrons dominate the number of negative charges or the negative ions dominate?
I have notice that some people just simply assume there is no electrons in flames and the number of negative ions is equal to that of positive ions? So will the impact ionization in flame important under certain external electric field?
In my understanding, the chem-ionization process first form positive ions and electrons and the electrons attach neutral molecules forming negative ions very fast.
Electron affinities of radicals or molecules are usually small (1 eV or less), so thermodynamically negative ions may not exist at all at high temperatures in flame.
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