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Atmospheric Pressure Plasmas in Material Science

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Materials Physics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2020) | Viewed by 26166

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Physics, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, USA
Interests: ambient pressure and ultra-high vacuum X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy; atmospheric pressure plasma jets; dissociative electron attachment to gas-phase molecules

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Atmospheric pressure plasmas are unique non-equilibrium systems that typically have an electron temperature that is relatively high in comparison to ion and gas temperatures, which are generally close to room temperature. Because of the partially ionized nature of this type of plasma, a unique set of conditions occurs, in which material processing benefits from chemical interactions, rather than the energetics of plasma components. Advanced plasma-material interactions enable new opportunities in material sciences, including nanostructure synthesis, film deposition, and surface functionalization, to name just a few. Moreover, by tuning plasma properties, it is possible to achieve the desired material composition, morphology and surface activity in a controlled manner. Thus, atmospheric pressure plasmas are an excellent means for fulfilling material requirements for industrial, environmental, and medical applications. This Special Issue focuses on the most recent advances in the plasma field, both at the fundamental level of physicochemical processes and at the more applied level, in order to provide current developments and findings that expand and deepen the understanding of atmospheric pressure plasma-material interactions.

Research articles, review articles, and communications related to experimental, theoretical, and simulation studies on the processes, properties, and applications of atmospheric pressure plasmas in material science are all invited.

Assoc. Prof. Sylwia Ptasinska
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • atmospheric pressure plasmas
  • material fabrication
  • nanotechnology
  • plasma processing
  • surface functionalization

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Published Papers (7 papers)

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Editorial

Jump to: Research, Review

3 pages, 156 KiB  
Editorial
Atmospheric Pressure Plasmas in Material Science
by Sylwia Ptasińska
Materials 2021, 14(8), 1963; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14081963 - 14 Apr 2021
Viewed by 1508
Abstract
The long-term goal of basic material research is to develop theoretical and experimental methodologies to advance the ability to produce materials with the desired compositions and properties that can be used in various applications [...] Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Atmospheric Pressure Plasmas in Material Science)

Research

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20 pages, 5537 KiB  
Article
Simultaneous Synthesis and Nitrogen Doping of Free-Standing Graphene Applying Microwave Plasma
by D. Tsyganov, N. Bundaleska, J. Henriques, E. Felizardo, A. Dias, M. Abrashev, J. Kissovski, A. M. Botelho do Rego, A. M. Ferraria and E. Tatarova
Materials 2020, 13(18), 4213; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13184213 - 22 Sep 2020
Cited by 17 | Viewed by 3386
Abstract
An experimental and theoretical investigation on microwave plasma-based synthesis of free-standing N-graphene, i.e., nitrogen-doped graphene, was further extended using ethanol and nitrogen gas as precursors. The in situ assembly of N-graphene is a single-step method, based on the introduction of N-containing precursor together [...] Read more.
An experimental and theoretical investigation on microwave plasma-based synthesis of free-standing N-graphene, i.e., nitrogen-doped graphene, was further extended using ethanol and nitrogen gas as precursors. The in situ assembly of N-graphene is a single-step method, based on the introduction of N-containing precursor together with carbon precursor in the reactive microwave plasma environment at atmospheric pressure conditions. A previously developed theoretical model was updated to account for the new reactor geometry and the nitrogen precursor employed. The theoretical predictions of the model are in good agreement with all experimental data and assist in deeper understanding of the complicated physical and chemical process in microwave plasma. Optical Emission Spectroscopy was used to detect the emission of plasma-generated ‘‘building units’’ and to determine the gas temperature. The outlet gas was analyzed by Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy to detect the generated gaseous by-products. The synthesized N-graphene was characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy, Raman, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Atmospheric Pressure Plasmas in Material Science)
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21 pages, 2512 KiB  
Article
Direct Exposure of Dry Enzymes to Atmospheric Pressure Non-Equilibrium Plasmas: The Case of Tyrosinase
by Annamaria Lapenna, Fiorenza Fanelli, Francesco Fracassi, Vincenza Armenise, Valeria Angarano, Gerardo Palazzo and Antonia Mallardi
Materials 2020, 13(9), 2181; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13092181 - 9 May 2020
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2811
Abstract
The direct interaction of atmospheric pressure non-equilibrium plasmas with tyrosinase (Tyr) was investigated under typical conditions used in surface processing. Specifically, Tyr dry deposits were exposed to dielectric barrier discharges (DBDs) fed with helium, helium/oxygen, and helium/ethylene mixtures, and effects on enzyme functionality [...] Read more.
The direct interaction of atmospheric pressure non-equilibrium plasmas with tyrosinase (Tyr) was investigated under typical conditions used in surface processing. Specifically, Tyr dry deposits were exposed to dielectric barrier discharges (DBDs) fed with helium, helium/oxygen, and helium/ethylene mixtures, and effects on enzyme functionality were evaluated. First of all, results show that DBDs have a measurable impact on Tyr only when experiments were carried out using very low enzyme amounts. An appreciable decrease in Tyr activity was observed upon exposure to oxygen-containing DBD. Nevertheless, the combined use of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and white-light vertical scanning interferometry revealed that, in this reactive environment, Tyr deposits displayed remarkable etching resistance, reasonably conferred by plasma-induced changes in their surface chemical composition as well as by their coffee-ring structure. Ethylene-containing DBDs were used to coat tyrosinase with a hydrocarbon polymer film, in order to obtain its immobilization. In particular, it was found that Tyr activity can be fully retained by properly adjusting thin film deposition conditions. All these findings enlighten a high stability of dry enzymes in various plasma environments and open new opportunities for the use of atmospheric pressure non-equilibrium plasmas in enzyme immobilization strategies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Atmospheric Pressure Plasmas in Material Science)
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16 pages, 1873 KiB  
Article
Glow Discharge in a High-Velocity Air Flow: The Role of the Associative Ionization Reactions Involving Excited Atoms
by Ezequiel Cejas, Beatriz Rosa Mancinelli and Leandro Prevosto
Materials 2019, 12(16), 2524; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma12162524 - 8 Aug 2019
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3036
Abstract
A kinetic scheme for non-equilibrium regimes of atmospheric pressure air discharges is developed. A distinctive feature of this model is that it includes associative ionization with the participation of N(2D, 2P) atoms. The thermal dissociation of vibrationally excited nitrogen molecules [...] Read more.
A kinetic scheme for non-equilibrium regimes of atmospheric pressure air discharges is developed. A distinctive feature of this model is that it includes associative ionization with the participation of N(2D, 2P) atoms. The thermal dissociation of vibrationally excited nitrogen molecules and the electronic excitation from all the vibrational levels of the nitrogen molecules are also accounted for. The model is used to simulate the parameters of a glow discharge ignited in a fast longitudinal flow of preheated (T0 = 1800–2900 K) air. The results adequately describe the dependence of the electric field in the glow discharge on the initial gas temperature. For T0 = 1800 K, a substantial acceleration in the ionization kinetics of the discharge is found at current densities larger than 3 A/cm2, mainly due to the N(2P) + O(3P) → NO+ + e process; being the N(2P) atoms produced via quenching of N2(A3u+) molecules by N(4S) atoms. Correspondingly, the reduced electric field noticeably falls because the electron energy (6.2 eV) required for the excitation of the N2(A3u+) state is considerably lower than the ionization energy (9.27 eV) of the NO molecules. For higher values of T0, the associative ionization N(2D) + O(3P) → NO+ + e process (with a low–activation barrier of 0.38 eV) becomes also important in the production of charged particles. The N(2D) atoms being mainly produced via quenching of N2(A3u+) molecules by O(3P) atoms. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Atmospheric Pressure Plasmas in Material Science)
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15 pages, 11227 KiB  
Article
Surface Modification of Polycarbonate by an Atmospheric Pressure Argon Microwave Plasma Sheet
by Dariusz Czylkowski, Bartosz Hrycak, Andrzej Sikora, Magdalena Moczała-Dusanowska, Mirosław Dors and Mariusz Jasiński
Materials 2019, 12(15), 2418; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma12152418 - 29 Jul 2019
Cited by 20 | Viewed by 4539
Abstract
The specific properties of an atmospheric pressure plasma make it an attractive tool for the surface treatment of various materials. With this in mind, this paper presents the results of experimental investigations of a polycarbonate (PC) material surface modification using this new type [...] Read more.
The specific properties of an atmospheric pressure plasma make it an attractive tool for the surface treatment of various materials. With this in mind, this paper presents the results of experimental investigations of a polycarbonate (PC) material surface modification using this new type of argon microwave (2.45 GHz) plasma source. The uniqueness of the new plasma source lies in the shape of the generated plasma—in contrast to other microwave plasma sources, which usually provide a plasma in the form of a flame or column, the new ones provides a plasma in the shape of a regular plasma sheet. The influence of the absorbed microwave power and the number of scans on the changes of the wettability and morphological and mechanical properties of the plasma-treated PC samples was investigated. The mechanical properties and changes in roughness of the samples were measured by the use of atomic force microscopy (AFM). The wettability of the plasma-modified samples was tested by measuring the water contact angle. In order to confirm the plasma effect, each of the above-mentioned measurements was performed before and after plasma treatment. All experimental tests were performed with an argon of flow rate up to 20 L/min and the absorbed microwave power ranged from 300 to 850 W. The results prove the capability of the new atmospheric pressure plasma type in modifying the morphological and mechanical properties of PC surfaces for industrial applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Atmospheric Pressure Plasmas in Material Science)
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15 pages, 8917 KiB  
Article
Modeling and Selection of RF Thermal Plasma Hot-Wall Torch for Large-Scale Production of Nanopowders
by Liuyang Bai, Jiaping He, Yuge Ouyang, Wenfu Liu, Huichao Liu, Haizi Yao, Zengshuai Li, Jun Song, Yinling Wang and Fangli Yuan
Materials 2019, 12(13), 2141; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma12132141 - 3 Jul 2019
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3860
Abstract
Fouling is a great problem that significantly affects the continuous operation for large-scale radio-frequency (RF) thermal plasma synthesizing nanopowders. In order to eliminate or weaken the phenomenon, numerical simulations based on FLUENT software were founded to investigate the effect of operation parameters, including [...] Read more.
Fouling is a great problem that significantly affects the continuous operation for large-scale radio-frequency (RF) thermal plasma synthesizing nanopowders. In order to eliminate or weaken the phenomenon, numerical simulations based on FLUENT software were founded to investigate the effect of operation parameters, including feeding style of central gas and sheath gas, on plasma torches. It is shown that the tangential feeding style of central gas brings serious negative axial velocity regions, which always forces the synthesized nanopowders to “back-mix”, and further leads to the fouling of the quartz tube. Moreover, it is shown that sheath gas should be tangentially fed into the plasma reactor to further eliminate the gas stream’s back-mixing. However, when this feeding style is applied, although the negative axial velocity region is decreased, the plasma gas and kinetic energy of the vapor phase near the wall of the plasma reactor are less and lower, respectively; as a result, that plasma flame is more difficult to be arced. A new plasma arcing method by way of feeding gun instead of torch wall was proposed and put in use. The fouling problem has been well solved and plasma arcing is well ensured, and as a result, the experiment on large-scale production of nanopowders can be carried out for 8 h without any interruption, and synthesized Si and Al2O3 nanopowders exhibit good dispersion and sphericity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Atmospheric Pressure Plasmas in Material Science)
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Review

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37 pages, 2959 KiB  
Review
Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Deposition of TiO2: A Review
by Soumya Banerjee, Ek Adhikari, Pitambar Sapkota, Amal Sebastian and Sylwia Ptasinska
Materials 2020, 13(13), 2931; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13132931 - 30 Jun 2020
Cited by 35 | Viewed by 5393
Abstract
Atmospheric pressure plasma (APP) deposition techniques are useful today because of their simplicity and their time and cost savings, particularly for growth of oxide films. Among the oxide materials, titanium dioxide (TiO2) has a wide range of applications in electronics, solar [...] Read more.
Atmospheric pressure plasma (APP) deposition techniques are useful today because of their simplicity and their time and cost savings, particularly for growth of oxide films. Among the oxide materials, titanium dioxide (TiO2) has a wide range of applications in electronics, solar cells, and photocatalysis, which has made it an extremely popular research topic for decades. Here, we provide an overview of non-thermal APP deposition techniques for TiO2 thin film, some historical background, and some very recent findings and developments. First, we define non-thermal plasma, and then we describe the advantages of APP deposition. In addition, we explain the importance of TiO2 and then describe briefly the three deposition techniques used to date. We also compare the structural, electronic, and optical properties of TiO2 films deposited by different APP methods. Lastly, we examine the status of current research related to the effects of such deposition parameters as plasma power, feed gas, bias voltage, gas flow rate, and substrate temperature on the deposition rate, crystal phase, and other film properties. The examples given cover the most common APP deposition techniques for TiO2 growth to understand their advantages for specific applications. In addition, we discuss the important challenges that APP deposition is facing in this rapidly growing field. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Atmospheric Pressure Plasmas in Material Science)
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