Experimental Research of Inactivation Effect of Low-Temperature Plasma on Bacteria

The killing logarithms index in killing a vegetative form in an explosure of about 90s and a spore in an explosure of about 120s, by using a low-temperature plasma produced by dielectric barrier discharge （DBD）, reached 5. The speed in killing the strains tested, by using a low-temperature plasma, was the highest with E. Coli, then S. Aureus and B. Subtilis var niger spore. The results of the scanning electron microscope showed that the low-temperature plasma destroyed the outer structure of the bacteria and that the vegetative form was more susceptible to the inactivation effect of the low-temperature plasma than was the spore. This indicated that the effects of the high voltage and high velocity particle flow, in plasma, penetrating through the outer structure of the bacteria might play a dominant role during the inactivation of the bacteria.

Surface Modification of Polyvinylidene Fluoride (PVDF) Membranes by Low-Temperature Plasma with Grafting Styrene

In order to control the surface pore sizes of polyvinylidene fluoride membranes and their distribution, low temperature plasma-induced grafting modifications of PVDF were studied to prepare hydrophobe membranes. By argon （Ar） treating and subsequent grafting reaction, a hydrophobe monomer, styrene, was introduced into the PVDF membrane. Fourier transform infrared attenuated total reflection （FTIR-ATR） was utilized to characterize the chemical and physical changes in the Ar plasma modified membrane. The surface modifications of PVDF membranes were investigated by using scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, atomic force microscopy （AFM） and differential scanning calorimeter （DSC）. The water permeability and the solute rejection were measured by PVDF membrane modified in different graft conditions. Results demonstrated that the pores in the modified membranes get smaller and the distribution of pores gets narrowed with the increase in grafting reaction duration. Longer graft time caused the water flux of PVDF membrane to decrease from 578 kg/（m^2· h） to 23 kg/（m^2· h） and the solute rejection to increase from 73% to 92%.

Low-temperature Plasma Promotes Fibroblast Proliferation in Wound Healing by ROS-activated NF-κB Signaling Pathway

Low-temperature plasma（LTP） has shown great promise in wound healing,although the underlying mechanism remains poorly understood.In the present study,an argon atmospheric pressure plasma jet was employed to treat L929 murine fibroblasts cultured in vitro and skin wounds in BALB/c mice.The in vitro analysis revealed that treatment of fibroblasts with LTP for 15 s resulted in a significant increase in cell proliferation,secretion of epidermal growth factor（EGF） and transforming growth factor-β1（TGF-β1）,production of intracellular reactive oxygen species（ROS）,and the percentage of cells in S phase,protein expression of phosphorylated p65（P-p65） and cyclin D1,but a noted decrease in the protein expression of inhibitor kappa B（IκB）.The in vivo experiments demonstrated that 30-s LTP treatment enhanced the number of fibroblasts and the ability of collagen synthesis,while 50-s treatment led to the opposite outcomes.These results suggested that LTP treatment promotes the fibroblast proliferation in wound healing by inducing the generation of ROS,upregulating the expression of P-p65,downregulating the expression of IκB,and activating the NF-κB signaling pathway and consequently altering cell cycle progression（increased DNA synthesis in S phage）.

Destruction of Gaseous Styrene with a Low-Temperature Plasma Induced by a Tubular Multilayer Dielectric Barrier Discharge

The destruction of gaseous styrene was studied using a low-temperature plasma induced by tubular multilayer dielectric barrier discharge（DBD）.The results indicate that the applied voltage,gas flow rate,inlet styrene concentration and reactor configuration play important roles in styrene removal efficiency （ηstyrene） and energy yield（EY）.Values of ηstyrene and EY reached 96%and 15567 mg/kWh when the applied voltage,gas flow rate,inlet styrene concentration and layers of quartz tubes were set at 10.8 kV,5.0 m/s,229 mg/m^3 and 5 layers,respectively.A qualitative analysis of the byproducts and a detailed discussion of the reaction mechanism are also presented.The results could facilitate industrial applications of the new DBD reactor for waste gas treatment.

Interaction of supersonic molecular beam with low-temperature plasma

The interaction between the supersonic molecular beam(SMB)and the low-temperature plasma is a critical issue for the diagnosis and fueling in the Tokamak device.In this work,the interaction process between the argon SMB and the argon plasma is studied by a high-speed camera based on the Linear Experimental Advanced Device(LEAD)in Southwestern Institute of Physics,China.It is found that the high-density SMB can extinct the plasma temporarily and change the distribution of the plasma density significantly,while the low-density SMB can hardly affect the distribution of plasma density.This can be used as an effective diagnostic technique to study the evolution of plasma density in the interaction between the SMB and plasma.Moreover,the related simulation based on this experiment is carried out to better understand the evolution of electron density and ion density in the interaction.The simulation results can be used to analyze and explain the experimental results well.

The Feasibility of Applying AC Driven Low-Temperature Plasma for Multi-Cycle Detonation Initiation

Ignition is a key system in pulse detonation engines （PDE）. As advanced ignition methods, nanosecond pulse discharge low-temperature plasma ignition is used in some combustion systems, and continuous alternating current （AC） driven low-temperature plasma using dielectric barrier discharge （DBD） is used for the combustion assistant. However, continuous AC driven plasmas cannot be used for ignition in pulse detonation engines. In this paper, experimental and numerical studies of pneumatic valve PDE using an AC driven low-temperature plasma igniter were described. The pneumatic valve was jointly designed with the low-temperature plasma igniter, and the numerical simulation of the cold-state flow field in the pneumatic valve showed that a complex flow in the discharge area, along with low speed, was beneficial for successful ignition. In the experiments ethylene was used as the fuel and air as oxidizing agent, ignition by an AC driven low-temperature plasma achieved multi-cycle intermittent detonation combustion on a PDE, the working frequency of the PDE reached 15 Hz and the peak pressure of the detonation wave was approximately 2.0 MPa. The experimental verifications of the feasibility in PDE ignition expanded the application field of AC driven low-temperature plasma.

Progress of International Low-Temperature Plasma Research──Overview of the 15th International Symposium on Plasma Chemistry

International Symposium on Plasma Chemistry (ISPC) is the most influencial in- ternational symposium on science and technology research of low-temperature plasma, especially in the fields related to materials processing. People can be rightly informed of the current devel- oping trend of this field from the contents of these symposia. This paper will introduce briefly a general overview of the 15th ISPC. As viewed from the number of papers and their contents, there is still abundant research on thermal plasma, and the needs fOr micro-electronic technology and high performance films have driven forward continuous and intensive development of the research on low-pressure, non-equilibrium plasmas, while the research on normal pressure, non-equilibrium plasma has become a new highlight in this field.

Three different low-temperature plasma-based methods for hydrophilicity improvement of polyethylene films at atmospheric pressure

Three different low-temperature plasma-based methods were used to improve the surface hydrophilicity of polyethy- lene （PE） films, and all the modification processes were carried out by employing an atmospheric pressure plasma jet （APPJ） system. （a） PE films were directly modified by APPJ using a gas mixture of He and 02. （b） Acrylic acid （AA） was introduced into the system and a polymer acrylic acid （PAA） coating was deposited onto the PE films. （c） AA was grafted onto the PE surface activated by plasma pre-treatment. It was found that the hydrophilicity of the PE films was significantly improved for all the three methods. However, the samples modified by Process （a） showed hydrophobicity recovery after a storage time of 20 days while no significant change was found in samples modified by Process （b） and Process （c）. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy （FTIR） results indicated that the most intensive C=O peak was detected on the PE surface modified by Process （c）. According to the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy （XPS） analysis, the ratios of oxygen-containing polar groups for samples modified by Process （b） and Process （c） were higher than that modified by Process （a）.

Remove of Phenolic Compounds in Water by Low-Temperature Plasma: A Review of Current Research

Phenolic compounds have very strong toxicity, so it has been paid sharply attention to find an effective way of controlling the wastewater containing phenolic compounds. The work on this subject done by domestic and overseas scholars is studied in this paper, and the progress of researches on low-temperature plasma treatment is summarized through the electrical discharge types, mechanism, kinetics of phenolic compounds decomposition and combination of several methods with low-temperature plasma treatment. In addition, the crucial problem and the developing tendency on low-temperature plasma treatment for phenol-bearing wastewater are briefly discussed.

Observation of Effectiveness of Clinical Sterilization by CASP-80A Low-Temperature Plasma Sterilizer

The influence on the effectiveness of sterilization by low-temperature plasma sterilizer CASP-80A was investigated so as to provide a theoretical basis for reducing medical costs and achieving ideal sterilization effectiveness. To conduct the on-site simulation test, a clinical material sterilization test and a test of the influence of organic substance were conducted, the former by using the representative of Bacillus Stearothermophilus, preparing the bacteria-contaminated carrier through polytetrafluoroethylene （PTFE） simulated hose endoscopes, and the latter by using calf serum as the influence factor of the organic substance. The results show that the CASP-80A low-temperature plasma sterilizer could achieve effective sterilization by either the short-cycle or the long-cycle sterilization method depending on different materials, apparatus, and extent of contamination. The organic substances could influence the effectiveness of sterilization by the low-temperature plasma （H2O2） sterilizer.

Design and characteristics investigation of a miniature low-temperature plasma spark discharge device

Atmospheric pressure low-temperature plasma is a promising tool in biomedicine applications including blood coagulation,bacterial inactivation,sterilization,and cancer treatment,due to its high chemical activity and limited thermal damage.It is of great importance to develop portable plasma sources that are safe to human touch and suitable for outdoor and household operation.In this work,a portable and rechargeable low-temperature plasma spark discharge device(130 mm×80 mm×35 mm,300 g)was designed.The discharge frequency and plume length were optimized by the selection of resistance,capacitance,electrode gap,and ground electrode aperture.Results show that the spark plasma plume is generated with a length of 12 mm and a frequency of 10 Hz at a capacitance of 0.33μF.resistance of 1 MΩ,electrode gap of 2 mm,and ground electrode aperture of 1.5 mm.Biological tests indicate that the plasma produced by this device contains abundant reactive species,which can be applied in plasma biomedicine,including daily sterilization and wound healing.

Evaluation of the intraoperative trauma degree and postoperative speech function of low-temperature plasma radiofrequency surgery treatment of children with OSAHS

Objective:To evaluate the intraoperative trauma degree and postoperative speech function of low-temperature plasma radiofrequency surgery treatment of children with obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS).Methods: A total of 118 children with OSAHS were divided into the control group (n=59) who received general surgery and the observation group (n=59) who received the low-temperature plasma radiofrequency surgery according to the random number table. Before operation and 24 h after operation, serum levels of stress hormones, acute phase proteins and inflammatory markers of two groups of children were determined, and the speech function parameter levels were assessed.Results:Before operation, differences in serum contents of stress hormones, acute phase proteins and inflammatory factors as well as speech function parameter levels were not statistically significant between two groups of patients. 24 h after operation, serum stress hormones adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), angiotensin-2 (Ang-2), norepinephrine (NE), cortisol (Cor) contents of observation group were lower than those of control group, serum acute phase proteins haptoglobin (HP), ceruloplasmin (CER), and prealbumin (PA) contents were lower than those of control group, and serum inflammatory factors interleukin-1 (IL-1), interleukin-4 (IL-4), interleukin-27 (IL-27), tumor necrosis factorα(TNF-α) contents were lower than those of control group;speech function parameters NNE and NHR levels of observation group were higher than those of control group.Conclusion:Compared with routine surgery, low-temperature plasma radiofrequency surgery treatment of children with OSAHS causes less surgical trauma and more greatly improves the postoperative speech level.

GROWTH PROCESS OF LOW-TEMPERATURE PLASMA-NITRIDING LAYER ON AUSTENITIC STAINLESS STEEL

The growth process of low-temperaturs plasma-nitriding layer was investigated by scan-ning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The layer is composedof expanded fcc phase (γN), whose lattice parameter of the layer increases with processtime resulting from increasing the nitrogen content. The layer hardness increases grad-ually with nitrogen content. The high slip band density on the layer surface observedin situ by SEM shows that the surface yield occurs when supersaturated nitrogen con-tent in the layer attains to some value, which is also responsible for the increase inlayer hardness.

Effect of low-temperature plasma on the degradation of omethoate residue and quality of apple and spinach

Dielectric barrier corona discharge was developed to generate low-temperature plasma(LTP) to treat apple and spinach samples contaminated with omethoate. Experimental results showed that,after 20 min exposure, the degradation rate of omethoate residue in apple and spinach was(94.55± 0.01)% and(95.55 ± 0.01)%, respectively. When the treatment time was shorter than 20 min,the contents of moisture, vitamin C and beta-carotene were not affected by LTP. Exploration of related mechanisms suggested that LTP might destroy unsaturated double bonds of omethoate and produce phosphate ion, eventually leading to omethoate destruction. It is concluded that appropriate dosage of LTP can effectively degrade omethoate residue in fruits and vegetables without affecting their quality.

Surface XPS-investigations of tobacco leaves treated with low-temperature plasma

The tobacco leaves were treated with low-temperature plasma in Ar, N2, O2, and air atmospheres at different powers (60―130 W). The surface-elemental components, their relative contents, and the functional groups of the surface components of the tobacco leaves were determined using XPS (X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy). The ex- perimental results showed that the percentage of the elements C, N, and O had changed considerably and a large number of polar functional groups containing oxygen atoms were incorporated into the components on the tobacco surfaces. The measurements of the surface contact angle showed that the surface contact angle of the modified tobacco leaves was 0 degree, whereas it was 110 degrees before the plasma treatment. These results indicate that the wettability of the modified tobacco leaves improved dramatically. This work may be significant for future researches on the surface modification of the tobacco leaves.

Low-Temperature Plasma Induced Grafting of 2-Methacryloyloxyethyl Phosphorylcholine onto Poly(tetrafluoroethylene) Films

Modification of poly(tetrafluoroethylene)(PTFE) films with 2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine(MPC) was performed by low-temperature plasma treatment and grafting polymerization.Surface properties of PTFE were characterized by attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared(ATR-FTIR) spectra,X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS) ,and static contact angle.The results show that MPC has been grafted onto PTFE film surface successfully.Contact angle for the modified PTFE films in the water decreased from 108°to 58.25°,while surface energy increased from 17.52 mN/m to 45.47 mN/m.The effects of plasma treatment time,monomer concentration and grafting time on degree of grafting were determined.In the meanwhile,blood compatibility of the PTFE films was studied by checking thrombogenic time of blood plasma.

Low-Temperature Plasma-Catalytic Reduction of NO_x by C_2H_2 in the Presence of Excess Oxygen

Synergistic effects of pulsed DC dielectric barrier discharge （DBD） plasma and Indium modified HZSM-5 （In/HZSM-5） catalyst for C2H2 selective reduction of NOx at 200℃, in the presence of enriched oxygen by using a one-stage plasma-over-catalyst （POC） reactor, are reported. With a reactant gas mixture of 480 ppm NO, 500 ppm C2H2, 13.0% O2 in N2 and gas hourly space velocity （GHSV） = 10000 h^-1, pure catalytic, pure plasma-induced （discharges over fused silica pellets） and plasma-catalytic NOx conversion percentages are 45.0%, 4.0% and 92.2%, respectively. NOx conversion rates and energy costs were also compared for pulsed DC DBD and AC DBD reactors.

A review of low-temperature plasma-assisted machining:from mechanism to application

Materials with high hardness,strength or plasticity have been widely used in the fields of aviation,aerospace,and military,among others.However,the poor machinability of these materials leads to large cutting forces,high cutting temperatures,serious tool wear,and chip adhesion,which affect machining quality.Low-temperature plasma contains a variety of active particles and can effectively adjust material properties,including hardness,strength,ductility,and wettability,significantly improving material machinability.In this paper,we first discuss the mechanisms and applications of low-temperature plasma-assisted machining.After introducing the characteristics,classifications,and action mechanisms of the low-temperature plasma,we describe the effects of the low-temperature plasma on different machining processes of various difficult-to-cut materials.The low-temperature plasma can be classified as hot plasma and cold plasma according to the different equilibrium states.Hot plasma improves material machinability via the thermal softening effect induced by the high temperature,whereas the main mechanisms of the cold plasma can be summarized as chemical reactions to reduce material hardness,the hydrophilization effect to improve surface wettability,and the Rehbinder effect to promote fracture.In addition,hybrid machining methods combining the merits of the low-temperature plasma and other energy fields like ultrasonic vibration,liquid nitrogen,and minimum quantity lubrication are also described and analyzed.Finally,the promising development trends of low-temperature plasma-assisted machining are presented,which include more precise control of the heat-affected zone in hot plasma-assisted machining,cold plasma-assisted polishing of metal materials,and further investigations on the reaction mechanisms between the cold plasma and other materials.

Structural Engineering of Anode Materials for Low-Temperature Lithium-Ion Batteries:Mechanisms,Strategies,and Prospects

The severe degradation of electrochemical performance for lithium-ion batteries(LIBs)at low temperatures poses a significant challenge to their practical applications.Consequently,extensive efforts have been contributed to explore novel anode materials with high electronic conductivity and rapid Li^(+)diffusion kinetics for achieving favorable low-temperature performance of LIBs.Herein,we try to review the recent reports on the synthesis and characterizations of low-temperature anode materials.First,we summarize the underlying mechanisms responsible for the performance degradation of anode materials at subzero temperatures.Second,detailed discussions concerning the key pathways(boosting electronic conductivity,enhancing Li^(+)diffusion kinetics,and inhibiting lithium dendrite)for improving the low-temperature performance of anode materials are presented.Third,several commonly used low-temperature anode materials are briefly introduced.Fourth,recent progress in the engineering of these low-temperature anode materials is summarized in terms of structural design,morphology control,surface&interface modifications,and multiphase materials.Finally,the challenges that remain to be solved in the field of low-temperature anode materials are discussed.This review was organized to offer valuable insights and guidance for next-generation LIBs with excellent low-temperature electrochemical performance.

Advances in sodium-ion batteries at low-temperature: Challenges and strategies

With the continuing boost in the demand for energy storage,there is an increasing requirement for batteries to be capable of operation in extreme environmental conditions.Sodium-ion batteries(SIBs) have emerged as a highly promising energy storage solution due to their promising performance over a wide range of temperatures and the abundance of sodium resources in the earth's crust.Compared to lithiumion batteries(LIBs),although sodium ions possess a larger ionic radius,they are more easily desolvated than lithium ions.Fu rthermore,SIBs have a smaller Stokes radius than lithium ions,resulting in improved sodium-ion mobility in the electrolyte.Nevertheless,SIBs demonstrate a significant decrease in performance at low temperatures(LT),which constrains their operation in harsh weather conditions.Despite the increasing interest in SIBs,there is a notable scarcity of research focusing specifically on their mechanism under LT conditions.This review explores recent research that considers the thermal tolerance of SIBs from an inner chemistry process perspective,spanning a wide temperature spectrum(-70 to100℃),particularly at LT conditions.In addition,the enhancement of electrochemical performance in LT SIBs is based on improvements in reaction kinetics and cycling stability achieved through the utilization of effective electrode materials and electrolyte components.Furthermore,the safety concerns associated with SIBs are addressed and effective strategies are proposed for mitigating these issues.Finally,prospects conducted to extend the environmental frontiers of commercial SIBs are discussed mainly from three viewpoints including innovations in materials,development and research of relevant theoretical mechanisms,and intelligent safety management system establishment for larger-scale energy storage SIBs.