At first it would seem that ionic air purification technology is very complicated, but it is much simpler than your would think. The simple answer is just that air passed through it, and the contaminant particles become electrically charged as the air passes through the machine. If your particular model has metal plates (this is much more common in much bigger models for the home, such as the famous sharper image models) then the particles will stick the the metal plates.
If you have a model with metal plates you will need to clean them off at times, and this is the only maintenance you will ever have to do. Many people are amazed by the amount of black gunk stuck to the plates. Just imagine, if you hadn't been purifying the air, all of this would have been inside your lungs.
The thing that confuses most people, is how the air gets into the ionic car air purifier in the first place. After all, there are no fans. What causes the air to move? This is much easier to explain if you have a model that has metal plates. All of the air around the device is charged, and the plates are charged oppositely, and the air from outside the device rushes towards the plates causing airflow.
In most ionic car air purifier models there is no actual airflow at all. At least not directly caused by the device. However, there is a lot of natural airflow that allows it to work. While driving you may have a vent running, which will cause the air to circulate. When the air is circulating the small unit will be able to charge the majority of the air in the car. Having windows open will also help the air circulate. The great thing though, is that the cabin of cars is usually small enough the air doesn't even have to circulate. Most car models also only really try and get rid of odors, rather than cleaning the air. For a higher price, though not much higher, there are ionic devices that are purposed to clean the air in your car.
Most people also wonder how the car units without plates work. After the air particles have been charged by the device where do they go if they don't have a electronic plate to stick to? The particles instantly fall to the ground or stick to the walls. Particles like to stay at their natural state so after being charged they must be grounded. The only way to do this is to touch a grounded location or stick to oppositely charged metal plates.
