Three modes of a direct-current plasma jet operated underwater to degrade methylene blue

A direct-current air plasma jet operated underwater presents three stable modes including an intermittently-pulsed discharge, a periodically-pulsed discharge and a continuous discharge with increasing the power voltage. The three discharge modes have different appearances for the plasma plumes. Moreover, gap voltage-current characteristics indicate that the continuous discharge is in a normal glow regime. Spectral lines from reactive species（OH, N2, N2^＋, Hα,and O） have been revealed in the emission spectrum of the plasma jet operated underwater.Spectral intensities emitted from OH radical and oxygen atom increase with increasing the power voltage or the gas flow rate, indicating that reactive species are abundant. These reactive species cause the degradation of the methylene blue dye in solution. Effects of the experimental parameters such as the power voltage, the gas flow rate and the treatment time are investigated on the degradation efficiency. Results indicate that the degradation efficiency increases with increasing the power voltage, the gas flow rate or the treatment time. Compared with degradation in the intermittently-pulsed mode or the periodically-pulsed one, it is more efficient in the continuous mode, reaching 98% after 21 min treatment.

Preparation of novel Ni-Ir/γ-Al_2O_3 catalyst via high-frequency cold plasma direct reduction process

The novel Ni-Ir/γ-Al2O3 catalyst, denoted as NIA-P, was prepared by high-frequency cold plasma direct reduction method under ambient conditions without thermal treatment, and the conventional sample, denoted as NIA-CR, was prepared by impregnation, thermal calcination, and then by H2 reduction method. The effects of reduction methods on the catalysts for ammonia decomposition were studied, and they were characterized by XRD, N2 adsorption, XPS, and H2-TPD. It was found that the plasma-reduced NIA-P sample showed a better catalytic performance, over which ammonia conversion was 68.9%, at T = 450℃, P = 1 atm, and GHSV = 30, 000 h^-1. It was 31.7% higher than that of the conventional NIA-CR sample. XRD results showed that the crystallite size decreased for the sample with plasma reduction, and the dispersion of active components was improved. There were more active components on the surface of the NIA-P sample from the XPS results. This effect resulted in the higher activity for decomposition of ammonia. Meanwhile, the plasma process significantly decreased the time of preparing catalyst.

Non-Maxwellian electron distributions resulting from direct laser acceleration in near-critical plasmas

The irradiation of few-nm-thick targets by a finite-contrast high-intensity short-pulse laser results in a strong pre-expansion of these targets at the arrival time of the main pulse.The targets decompress to near and lower than critical densities with plasmas extending over few micrometers,i.e.multiple wavelengths.The interaction of the main pulse with such a highly localized but inhomogeneous target leads to the generation of a short channel and further self-focusing of the laser beam.Experiments at the Glass Hybrid OPCPA Scaled Test-bed(GHOST)laser system at University of Texas,Austin using such targets measured non-Maxwellian,peaked electron distribution with large bunch charge and high electron density in the laser propagation direction.These results are reproduced in 2D PIC simulations using the EPOCH code,identifying direct laser acceleration(DLA)[1]as the responsible mechanism.This is the first time that DLA has been observed to produce peaked spectra as opposed to broad,Maxwellian spectra observed in earlier experiments[2].This high-density electrons have potential applications as injector beams for a further wakefield acceleration stage as well as for pump-probe applications.

The inflammatory response of the pulp after direct capping with platelet-rich plasma and enamel matrix derivative:A controlled animal study

Aims: To evaluate the inflammatory response of the exposed pulp of incisor teeth in rats after direct pulp capping, using platelet rich plasma (PRP), enamel matrix derivate (EMD), mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) and calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)2). Methods: The study was conducted on 36 Wistar albino rats with a total of 144 incisor teeth. The pulps of 96 teeth of the rats were perforated and capped with different agents. Serving as the positive control group, the pulps of 24 teeth were only perforated and capped without capping agents, whereas the pulps of 24 teeth were used as the negative control group without being perforated (without any process). The research was ended with the extracting of the teeth on the 7th day-28th day. The teeth were taken to the routine and histological follows;cross sections were prepared and painted with hematoxylen & eosin. All of the sections were evaluated in terms of inflammatory reaction by histologic analysis taken by light microscope. Statistical analysis was used. The normal distribution of all data was tested with the Mann Whitney U and the differences between the groups were analyze dusing Kruskal Wallis test at 0.05 level. Results: There are no statistically significant differences in terms of inflammation type and necrosis among the treatment groups on 7 days’ post capping. However, improved inflammatory cell accumulation, hyperemia and lowest necrosis were observed from the samples treated with PRP (p < 0.05). Conversely, the EMD group indicated that the criteria of inflammation scores and hyper- emia were higher in the 28th day (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Most of cells accumulating in the PRP group and most necrosis were seen in the EMD group. These new PRP materials might serve as pulp capping biomaterials to induce initial healing response in the future.

Direct Rapid Prototyping of Metal Parts by Hybrid of Plasma Deposition and Milling Machine

General principle and layout of the prototype machine is introduced. Primary results of producing a metal vase to investigate the proper selection of numerous technical parameters are presented.

Experiment on inducing apoptosis of melanoma cells by micro-plasma jet

As a promising cancer treatment method,cold atmospheric plasma has received widespread attention in recent years.However,previous research has focused more on how to realize and expand the anti-cancer scope of plasma jet.There are also studies on the killing of small-scale cancer cells,but the effects of plasma jet on normal cells and normal cell clusters have been ignored.Therefore,we proposed a 50μm sized micro-plasma jet device,and used the device to treat melanoma cells(A-375)and human glial cells(HA1800)to evaluate their anti-cancer effects and effects on normal cells.The experimental results show that this kind of micro-plasma jet device can effectively inactivate cancer cells in a short period of time,while having little effect on normal cells.This work provides a certain experimental basis for the application offine plasma jet to clinically inactivate cancer cells.

Therapeutic plasma exchange for hyperlipidemic pancreatitis:Current evidence and unmet needs

With changes in lifestyle and diet worldwide,the prevalence of hyperlipidemic acute pancreatitis(HLAP)has greatly increased,and it has become the most common cause of acute pancreatitis not due to gallstones or alcohol.There are many available therapies for HLAP,including oral lipid-lowering agents,intravenous insulin,heparin,and therapeutic plasmapheresis(TPE).It is believed that the risk and severity of HLAP increase with rising levels of serum triglycerides(TG),thus a rapid decrease in serum TG level is the key to the successful management of HLAP.TPE has emerged as an effective modality in rapidly reducing serum TG levels.However,due to its cost and accessibility,TPE remains poorly evaluated until now.Some studies revealed its efficacy in helping to treat and prevent the recurrence,while some studies suggested that TG levels were not correlated with disease severity,mortality,or length of hospital stay.Thus TPE might have no beneficial effect for the outcome.This article gives an overview of the published evidence of TPE in the treatment of HLAP and outlines current evidence regarding individual outcome predictors,adverse effects of the procedure,and TPE in special occasions such as for pregnant patients and patients with diabetic ketoacidosis.Future direction of TPE research for HLAP is also discussed in this review.

Fast inactivation of microbes and degradation of organic compounds dissolved in water by thermal plasma

The multifunctionality and the advantages of thermal plasma for the fast inactivation of viable cells and degradation of organic compounds dissolved in waste water are presented.A complete bacterial inactivation process was observed and studied using a thermal plasma treatment source with very short application times,in particular for Staphylococcus aureus bundle spore survival.The survival curves and analyses of the experimental data of the initial and final densities of S.aureus bacteria show a dramatic inhibitory effect of the plasma discharge on the residual bacteria survival ratio.As the exposure time increased,the inactivation process rate increased for direct exposure more than it did for indirect exposure.The evaluation of direct and indirect exposure was based on the analysis of the ultraviolet spectrum from the absorbance spectra of the organic compound dye called benzene sulfonate（C（16）H（11）N2Na O4S）and of viable cells called S.aureus.Organic compounds were degraded and viable cells were killed in a short time by thermal plasma.Moreover,analyses of total carbon,total organic carbon,and total inorganic carbon showed a fast decrease in organically bound carbon,however,this was not as fast as the absorbance spectra revealed by the exposure time increasing more for direct exposure than indirect exposure.After 100 s of exposure to the organic compound dye the removal had a maximun of 40%for samples with indirect exposure to the plasma and a maximum of 90%for samples with the direct exposure.For both samples,where some organic contaminants still remained in treated water,four electrolytes（KCl,Na Cl,Na2SO4,and CH3COONa）were added to be effective for complete sterilization,reaching a purity of 100%.A proposal is made for an optimized thermal plasma water purification system（TPWPS）to improve fast inactivation of microbes and the degradation of organic compounds dissolved in water（especially for direct exposure rather than indirect exposure）using a hybrid plasma torch with an electrical power of 125 kW（500 V–250 A）producing a high-temperature（10 000 K–19 000 K）plasma jet with a maximum gas consumption of 28 mg s^-1.

Catalyst-Free Growth of Graphene by Microwave Surface Wave Plasma Chemical Vapor Deposition at Low Temperature

Catalyst-free graphene films has been synthesized by microwave (MW) surface wave plasma (SWP) chemical vapor deposition (CVD) using hydrogenated carbon source on silicon substrates at low temperature (500℃). The synthesized process is simple, low-cost and possible for application on transparent electrodes, gas sensors and thin film resistors. Analytical methods such as Raman spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and four points prove resistivity measurement and UV-VIS-NIR spectroscopy were employed to characterize properties of the graphene films. The formation of multilayer of graphene on silicon substrate was confirmed by Raman spectroscopy and TEM. It is possible to grow graphene directly on silicon substrate (without using catalyst) due to high radical density of MW SWP CVD. In addition, we also observed that the hydrogen had significant role for quality of graphene.

Optical characterization of single-crystal diamond grown by DC arc plasma jet CVD

Optical centers of single-crystal diamond grown by DC arc plasma jet chemical vapor deposition(CVD) were examined using a low-temperature photoluminescence(PL) technique. The results show that most of the nitrogen-vacancy(NV) complexes are present as NV-centers, although some H2 and H3 centers and B-aggregates are also present in the single-crystal diamond because of nitrogen aggregation resulting from high N_2 incorporation and the high mobility of vacancies under growth temperatures of 950–1000°C. Furthermore, emissions of radiation-induced defects were also detected at 389, 467.5, 550, and 588.6 nm in the PL spectra. The reason for the formation of these radiation-induced defects is not clear. Although a Ni-based alloy was used during the diamond growth, Ni-related emissions were not detected in the PL spectra. In addition, the silicon-vacancy(Si-V)-related emission line at 737 nm, which has been observed in the spectra of many previously reported microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition(MPCVD) synthetic diamonds, was absent in the PL spectra of the single-crystal diamond prepared in this work. The high density of NV-centers, along with the absence of Ni-related defects and Si-V centers, makes the single-crystal diamond grown by DC arc plasma jet CVD a promising material for applications in quantum computing.

Laser-driven relativistic electron dynamics in a cylindrical plasma channel

The energy and trajectory of the electron, which is irradiated by a high-power laser pulse in a cylindrical plasma channel with a uniform positive charge and a uniform negative current, have been analyzed in terms of a single-electron model of direct laser acceleration. We find that the energy and trajectory of the electron strongly depend on the positive charge density, the negative current density, and the intensity of the laser pulse. The electron can be accelerated significantly only when the positive charge density, the negative current density, and the intensity of the laser pulse are in suitable ranges due to the dephasing rate between the wave and electron motion. Particularly, when their values satisfy a critical condition. the electron can stay in phase with the laser and gain the largest energy from the laser. With the enhancement of the electron energy, strong modulations of the relativistic factor cause a considerable enhancement of the electron transverse oscillations across the channel, which makes the electron trajectory become essentially three-dimensional, even if it is flat at the early stage of the acceleration.

Effects of Sputtering Parameters on the Performance of Sputtered Cathodes for Direct Methanol Fuel Cells

Plasma sputtering deposition techniques are good candidates for the fabrication of electrodes used for direct methanol fuel cells （DMFCs）. A house-made plasma sputtering system was used to deposit platinum of 0.1 mg/cm^2 onto un-catalyzed gas diffusion layers （GDLs） to form a Pt catalyzed cathode at different radio frequency （RF） powers and sputtering-gas pressures. The sputtered cathodes were assembled in custom-made membrane electrode assemblies （MEAs） with a commercial anode and tested for the electrical performance of the single cell. A custommade MEA with a sputtering prepared cathode was compared with that of a reference membrane electrode assembly made of commercial JM （Johnson Mattey） catalysts （Pt loading per electrode of 0.5 mg/cm^2） under passive methanol supply, ambient temperature and air-breathing conditions. The results showed that the cathode prepared at an input power of 110 W and sputtering-gas pressure of 5.3 Pa exhibited the best cell performance and highest Pt utilization efficiency, which was due to the miniaturization of the Pt particles and formation of the porous catalyst layer. Although the single cell performance of the commercial cathode was better than all the sputtering fabricated cathodes, the Pt utilization efficiency of all the sputtered cathodes was higher than that of the commercial cathode.

Reversal of radial glow distribution in helicon plasma induced by reversed magnetic field

In this work, the reversal of radial glow distribution induced by reversed magnetic field is reported. Based on the Boswell antenna which is symmetric and insensitive to the magnetic field direction, it seems such a phenomenon in theory appears impossible. However, according to the diagnostic of the helicon waves by magnetic probe, it is found that the direction of magnetic field significantly affects the propagation characteristic of helicon waves, i.e., the interchange of the helicon waves at the upper and the lower half of tube was caused by reversing the direction of magnetic field. It is suggested that the variation of helicon wave against the direction of magnetic field causes the reversed radial glow distribution. The appearance of the traveling wave does not only improve the discharge strength, but also determines the transition of the discharge mode.

Rotation of dust vortex in a metal saw structure in dusty plasma

By designing a metal saw structure,both negative and positive rotations of dust vortices are obtained experimentally.With increasing gas pressure,the dust vortex undergoes different spatial distribution from dense dust cloud to dust void,then to dust chain.The transition between the negative and positive rotations of dust vortices is reversible and controllable by changing the gas pressure/input power.The underlying mechanism of this transition is preliminarily explored.

New paths and research directions in CO_(2) conversion by electro-, photoand plasma catalysis

CO_(2) conversion into value-added products by electro-, photoand plasma catalysis under mild operating conditions(ambient temperature and pressure) is an emerging area to achieve carbon circularity by producing chemicals and fuels using directly renewable energy. Among all CO_(2) conversion approaches, the electrocatalytic reduction of CO_(2) is the most mature technology, capable of achieving high productivity(i.e. high current densities) at large scale, especially for producing carbon monoxide(CO), but with many examples showing selectivity to C_(2) carbon products.

Photon Emission from Quark Gluon Plasma at RHIC and LHC

We work on photon production through annihilation and Compton, and annihilation with scattering (AWS) processes through a quark-gluon plasma (QGP) in high energy nuclear collision incorporating the parametrization factors in strong coupling value and thermal dependent quark mass obtained through a coupling value. We find that photon yield increases with the increasing of the temperature and dominated by early times. We also compare the influence of coupling value on the spectrum of thermal photons. The production rate of photons is observed in the range of low and intermediate transverse momentum. The results are compared with other work.

Direct Synthesis of Graphene on Silicon at Low Temperature for Schottky Junction Solar Cells

Graphene thin films synthesized directly at low temperature (550˚C) on silicon substrate by microwave (MW) surface wave plasma (SWP) chemical vapor deposition (CVD) using the cover on substrates for avoiding plasma emission ultraviolet ray’s effect during film deposition. Analytical methods such as Raman spectroscopy, Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), four-point probe method, and JASCO V-570 UV/VIS/NIR spectrophotometer were employed to characterize the properties of the graphene films. Here, we report that it is possible to grow graphene directly on the silicon substrate (without using catalyst) due to the high radical density of MW SWP CVD. Furthermore, we fabricated graphene/silicon Schottky junction solar cells with an efficiency of up to 6.39%. Compared to conventional silicon solar cells, the fabrication process is greatly simplified;just graphene is synthesized directly on n-type crystalline Si substrate at low temperate.

Modeling of Pulsed Direct-Current Glow Discharge

A self-consistent model was adopted to study the time evolution of low-voltage pulsed DC glow discharge. The distributions of electric field, ion density and electron density in nitrogen were investigated in our simulation, and the temporal shape of the discharge current was also obtained. Our results show that the dynamic behaviors of the discharge depends strongly on the applied pulse voltage, and the use of higher pulse voltages results in a significantly increase of discharge current and a decrease of discharge delay time. The current-voltage characteristic cMculated by adjusting secondary electron emission coefficient for different applied pulse voltage under the gas pressure of 1 Torr is found in a reasonable agreement with the experimental results.

Effect of tritium reduction in determining energy gain by using R-matrix method direct laser fusion in D-T reaction

The laser fusion criterion is known as the ρR-Criterion, also called high-gain condition. This parameter is temperature dependent and can be calculated by R-matrix method. This method is applied for determining improved fusion cross-section for the reactions T(d,n)4He, 3He(d,p)4He, D(d,p)T, D(d,n)3He. In this paper the time dependent reaction rate equations for fusion reaction T(d,n)4He are solved and by using the obtained results we computed the fu- sion power density, energy gain versus temperature and ρR-parameter. The obtained results show that a suitable com- bination may be a deuterium fraction fD=0.65 and fT=0.35 which would lead 30% reduction in the tritium content of the fuel mixture, and this choice would not change the energy gain value very much. Finally, the obtained energy gain for D-T reaction by using R-matrix is in good agreement with other theories.

DBD等离子体与活化水对马铃薯生长特性及产量的影响

等离子体技术在农业生产、生物医学、环境保护等领域有着广泛的应用前景。论文采用多针-板电极制备等离子体活化水装置、板-板电极等离子体直接处理马铃薯装置,对比研究了不同放电功率下等离子体活化水、直接等离子体处理对马铃薯生长特性及产量的影响。2种装置均呈丝状放电,且放电功率与外施电压正相关;当最佳放电功率匹配时,等离子体活化水、直接等离子体处理均能显著改善马铃薯生长特性及产量。等离子体活化水的放电功率为53 W时,马铃薯植株高度、茎粗、鲜重、叶绿素质量分数及产量分别提升了6.4%、18.9%、25.9%、31.7%及17.5%;直接等离子体处理马铃薯的放电功率为8 W时,植株的各参数值增幅均在10%以上。研究结果表明:放电功率变化时,等离子体活化水的理化参数(pH值、氧化还原电位、电导率、过氧化氢、硝酸根离子、亚硝酸根离子)变化显著;随着放电功率的提升,直接等离子体处理的马铃薯吸水率先增长后下降,种皮刻蚀逐渐明显。论文的研究可为DBD等离子体与活化水在农业生产领域应用提供参考。